Slyne and Co pearl satin and gold lame lace gown, circa 1937. Photo author’s own and taken with the permission of Caroline Quinn of Dirty Fabulous, Monaghan.
Emma Kelly, 2018 BA (Hons) Fashion and Dress History graduate reflects on her journey as a student from undergraduate to postgraduate study, finishing her MA during lockdown and developing subject specialism along the way. Congratulations Emma!
I graduated in 2017 from BA (Hons) Fashion and Dress History and have recently completed my MA in Design History and Material Culture at National College of Art and Design, Dublin. What I most enjoyed about my time at Brighton were studying the rich and varied topics covered in the lectures and seminars and how tutors encouraged primary research including visiting archives and using the University’s Dress History Teaching Collection. Working with the collection was amongst the highlights of my three years of study, uncovering stories of the trends, makers, sellers and wearers of fashion. One of my favourite projects was researching Bradleys of London, beginning with a 1930s ensemble from the department store. I encountered Bradleys again during my postgraduate studies whilst researching Sybil Connolly, the Irish couturier who worked at Bradleys in the 1940s. What I wouldn’t do to spend an afternoon back in the collection!
Throughout my undergraduate studies, I was fascinated by Irish dress history, though I never had the chance to delve into the topic. So much of the material discussed in lectures and seminars centred on Britain, France, America and the Soviet Union. In comparison, the field of Irish dress is very underdeveloped, a problem I first encountered during my undergraduate and an issue that remains to this day. Touching on the topic briefly in my BA dissertation made me all the more determined to focus on the field in my future work, beginning with a Masters.
I decided to return to Ireland for my postgraduate studies, informed not only by my desire to tackle Irish dress but also the uncertainty caused by Brexit. In September of 2018, I began my study on the Design History and Material Culture MA at NCAD in Dublin. I was immediately drawn to its multidisciplinary nature and the freedom it offered to tackle a wide range of topics. My tutors were extremely supportive of us pursuing our own research interests and developing our own writing style. Every assignment offered up a new opportunity to tackle a different theme, topic and time period, whilst also allowing me to call upon my experiences from Brighton, particularly my work with the Dress History Teaching Collection. One of my first assignments centred on a Ballet Russe inspired satin and chinchilla tunic dress from the mid to late 1910s and enabled me to research a Dublin-based dressmaker, Mrs McAsey, the influence of and the reaction to Parisian fashion in Ireland in the 1910s. An essay focused on a 1950s Sybil Connolly suit offered an opportunity to examine the presence of Irish fashion in the domestic and international print media.
My thesis, echoing some of my undergraduate and postgraduate work, began with a dress, a satin 1930s gown attributed to Slyne and Co, a Dublin-based fashion establishment. Set to the timeline of 1885 to 1937, my thesis centred on the business as a multi-faceted, female-led establishment located on the main shopping street which sold custom creations, copies and ready-made goods in line with the latest Parisian and London fashions.
Finishing my Masters in lockdown was not expected and definitely had an impact but I have been so lucky to have studied on two amazing programmes that have equipped me with strong research skills and a deep understanding of my field that were called upon time and time again.
Slyne and Co pearl satin and gold lame lace gown, circa 1937. Photo author’s own and taken with the permission of Caroline Quinn of Dirty Fabulous, Monaghan.