Not currently on display at the V&A

Theatre Costume


The hat, with its strong contrast of white painted straw and rich black velvet trim, is striking enough to be theatrical, though whether designed by Messel or acquired by him from another production is not known. The collection also includes a miniature version of the hat, which leads to the tempting speculation that the two were made for a young girl and her doll, although the black/white contrast would probably have been considered too noticeable for a well-bred late Victorian-Edwardian child.

Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain's leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel's style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Caribbean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
straw painted white, velvet ribbon, velvet, chenille, elastic, gauze, cotton fringing
Brief description
Straw hat painted white, trimmed with black velvet ribbon finishing in elaborate flower trimmed loops and long tails at the back. Possibly designed by Oliver Messel.
Physical description
Low crowned, narrow brimmed hat of straw painted white. Around the crown is a pleated band of wide black velvet ribbon, which at the back is piled over the crown in piled-up loops, which continue over the brim and fall down the back in long tails ending in black cotton fringe; the loops at the back are trimmed with a loop of green chenille and at either side a rose and bud in red velvet with yellow centre and green velvet leaves (right hand trim missing). Around the edge of the brim is a narrow band of black velvet linked tiny circles; inside the brim is a narrow band of black velvet ribbon. There is a gauze band inside the crown and a length of black elastic to fit under the chin
Credit line
Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A
Object history
Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's theatre designs and other designs and artefacts. The designs were briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being housed at the V&A from 1981 on indefinite loan. The V&A Theatre Museum purchased the Oliver Messel collection from Lord Snowdon in 2005.
Summary
The hat, with its strong contrast of white painted straw and rich black velvet trim, is striking enough to be theatrical, though whether designed by Messel or acquired by him from another production is not known. The collection also includes a miniature version of the hat, which leads to the tempting speculation that the two were made for a young girl and her doll, although the black/white contrast would probably have been considered too noticeable for a well-bred late Victorian-Edwardian child.

Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain's leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel's style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Caribbean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas.
Other number
ROT 8888 - TM Rotation Number
Collection
Accession number
S.552-2006

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Record createdMarch 7, 2007
Record URL
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