Spring Fashion and Textile Symposium: Stories In Fiber

Join us for our Spring Symposium!

Genesee Country Village & Museum is excited to announce the first program in our 2024 Fashion & Textile Symposium Series! This day of lectures will feature four exciting presenters, hosted by John L. Wehle Gallery Curator Brandon W. Brooks. The theme for this spring's symposium is stories in fiber.

Access to all four fashion and textile-related lectures is included in the price of admission, along with a prepared boxed lunch of your choice. A continental breakfast of coffee, tea, orange juice, water, and pastries will be present upon arrival. At the end of the day (from 3 - 4 p.m.), guests will have the opportunity to enjoy staff-led explorations behind the scenes in the John L. Wehle Gallery vaults which house the renowned Bruce & Susan Greene Costume Collection.

Opening Speaker

Brandon W. Brooks - Curator of the John L. Wehle Gallery

Our opening speaker, Curator Brandon W. Brooks, will begin the symposium by presenting "Across the World in a Paper Dress: Kapa Cloth in Early 19th-century Western Garment"

This talk will explore the origins and makeup of a Kapa or Tapa cloth 1830s day dress, from the collections at Rochester Museum & Science Center. In-person views of this dress will complement an examination of how Kapa or Tapa cloth was created in 19th-century Hawaii, how this tradition is kept alive today, and how this material made its way into Western garments. Specific markings of Kapa cloth and their particular associations will also be highlighted in this exciting talk.

Second Speaker

Nellie Ludemann, Executive Director for the Seneca Falls Historical Society

Our second speaker, Nelie Ludemann, will present "Il Mulino delle Donne: Knitting and Textiles in Seneca Falls"

The Seneca Knitting Mill has always been a prominent landmark in the Seneca Falls community since construction finished on it in 1844. Through its life, it has been a place of employment, advancement, and change inside the small Canalside village of Seneca Falls. Il Muino delle Donne: Knitting and Textiles in Seneca Falls explores the history of this important fixture of the community and looks at real accounts of the culture inside the mill from a female perspective.

Break for lunch!

This exciting day of lectures will be broken up by a delicious lunch hour, complimentary with your ticket purchase! A continental breakfast of coffee, tea, orange juice, water, and pastries will also be present upon arrival, and beverages will be available to guests throughout the day.

LUNCH OPTIONS:

Chicken Salad on a Croissant Roll

Turkey & Bacon Ranch Wrap

Vegetable Garden Salad (vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free)

When purchasing your ticket, you will be able to make your lunch selection.

Third Speaker

Angela Burnley, Textile & Fashion Researcher and the Owner of Burnley and Trowbridge Company

Our third speaker, Angela Burnley, will present "'Just Imported from London…a large assortment of calicoes & printed cottons' : Transatlantic Fashion Taste in the Mid 18th Century"

As a textile historian Angela searches constantly for primary sources. She relies heavily on textile samples from manufacturers, scraps hidden in letters and diaries, ships logs, and primary writing that corroborates her findings. Beginning in 2011, she had the unique opportunity to study a collection of textile scraps left as tokens from the London Foundling Hospital dating mostly from the 1750's into the early 60's. The time spent with this collection provided one of the chief kingpins of her research going forward.

Using the Foundling collection this lecture seeks to demonstrate the variety of printed textiles that were available to the average consumer in England and likewise in the Colonies in the mid 18th century. Supported by visual and written documentation it will explore the various designs, fibers and fashion influences that were not only desired by all levels of English society but by the Colonists as well.

Final Speaker

Rabbit Goody, Owner, Designer, and Master Weaver of Thistle Hill Weavers

Our final speaker, Rabbit Goody, will present "Unraveling the Mysteries of Woven Histories"

This talk will explore the good, the not so good, and the disasters. The process we use for reproducing historic clothing fabric is often so out of the box we don't know where it will lead us. Sometimes we get it right and sometimes not. The journey to reproduce fabric from a surviving piece of cloth, or an image is one of being both detective and problem solver. We know that we cannot replicate or reproduce fabrics with accuracy beyond the availability and limitations of today's yarns, dyes, and modern equipment, but we can often come close enough to make things acceptable for their purpose.

Take a look behind the scenes!

Explore the Gallery Textile Vaults

At the end of the day (from 3 - 4 p.m.), guests will have the opportunity to enjoy staff-led explorations behind the scenes in either the John L. Wehle Gallery vaults which house the Bruce & Susan Greene Costume Collection.

Time: Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for in-person attendees, and virtual attendees will see programming beginning at 10 a.m.

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