Tower and Town, November 2020 (view the full edition)Arts ReviewOne thing I’ve been missing greatly over the past few months is train travel. I know you can still physically do it, but for obvious reasons, it’s not something I’ve personally attempted…staring at my 16-25 railcard withering away before me. The carefree days of catching the train from the sunny side of the platform at Andover Station heading straight into Waterloo seem somewhere stuck in the past. Being a country girl with an alarming Wiltshire lilt (!), but having parents who are from the Big Smoke, I’ve always felt it necessary and hugely enjoyable to ‘dress up’ when heading to London. It’s like going to the theatre – one must make an effort! The way we dress is directly influenced by what is happening socially, economically, politically and culturally. Travelling has changed oodles in the last 100 years, not least because of what we wear and how we dress when making a journey. Air travel is generally no longer viewed as ‘luxurious.’ The days of dressing like Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart at the end of Casablanca as their plane gets ready to depart are a thing of the past. I’ve noticed when flying anywhere that people do not make an effort to look smart when they travel, unless of course they are ‘going on’ somewhere smart as soon as the plane lands. It’s a shame, because jogging bottoms, hoodies and trainers will never make heads turn. It’s not crazy though, because we do all want to feel relaxed and comfortable when we’re travelling, particularly on a long haul flight when you’re sat in the same position for ten hours looking at a screen.
Looking Ahead… The London Transport Museum has reopened and if you have not visited, I highly recommend this museum not least because it houses the iconic Routemaster buses, but because they also have a wonderful selection of vintage travel posters. (The museum’s website has all the latest information about visiting.) https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/ The V&A has an upcoming exhibition called Bags: Inside Out opening on Saturday 21st November 2020. Again, all the information about visiting can be viewed on their website. https://www.vam.ac.uk/ Gabriella Venus |
Thinking about dress history and air travel, I discovered that the Italian born, innovative and exciting fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) designed a collection of flight clothes, including a woollen suit for Amy Johnson, the first female pilot to fly solo from London to Cape Town in 1936. Alongside this, Schiaparelli also designed a postage stamp-patterned blouse, again, denoting travel and adventure for Johnson’s wardrobe collection for her flight to South Africa. 
This professional relationship as well as individual achievement was pioneering and inspirational. I marvel at the fact both of these women were supporting and inspiring one another to break new ground. Furthermore, the mere fact that a haute couture designer wanted to make a statement about a young woman making a solo flight across two continents should be applauded and acknowledged.