LONDON.- Founded in 2003 by iconic British designer Dame Zandra Rhodes, recent closures have been the longest in the Fashion and Textile Museum’s 17-year history. Now, with an updated exhibition programme, and with extensive safe visiting measures in place, the Fashion and Textile Museum announced its reopening on Wednesday 5 August 2020.

Open for less than 5 weeks after its initial launch in February 2020, the Fashion and Textile Museum has extended their current exhibition, Out of the Blue: Fifty Years of Designers Guild, until 21 February 2021. Celebrating the work of influential design company Designers Guild, Out of the Blue unravels founder Tricia Guild’s unique and creative approach to colour, pattern and texture. 2021’s Spring/Summer exhibition, 12 March – 15 August 2021, will be Chintz: Cotton in Bloom; an engaging exploration of a much-treasured textile, featuring over 150 examples from around the world. Originally scheduled for late 2020, the Fashion and Textile Museum is thrilled to confirm that the much-anticipated exhibition, Beautiful People: The Boutique in 1960s Counterculture, will now be on show from 3 September 2021 – January 2022. The exhibition will explore fabulous and rare examples from the era-defining stores and designers of Chelsea’s 1960s boutiques.

In addition, the Fashion and Textile Museum announced the re-launch of its ever-popular workshop programme. Inspiring one and two-day courses include Couture Techniques, led by Zandra Rhodes’ dressmaker Jolanta Cerniauskiene, Fashion Drawing, taught by Fashion and Textile Museum Head of Exhibitions, Dennis Nothdruft, and Creating Colour Palettes with celebrated textile designer, Sarah Campbell. Plans are also in place to bring the Fashion and Textile Museum’s highly successful and long running Thursday Lates programme online. The programme will feature Tricia Guild, creative force behind Designers Guild, in conversation with Elle Deco Editor Ben Spriggs, and ‘queen of print’ Cath Kidston on achieving her signature style.

Initially opening Wednesday – Saturday, between the reduced hours of 11am – 4pm, the Fashion and Textile Museum plans to extended opening hours gradually in coming weeks and months. Currently, to ensure the health and well-being of staff and visitors, all visitors are required to book their tickets online and to select a 1-hour time slot for their visit. Further safe visiting measures including hand sanitiser, one-way systems, and increased cleaning regimes have been introduced throughout the Museum. Full details of these measures can be found on the Fashion and Textile Museum website.

Head of Exhibitions, Dennis Nothdruft says: I am very proud to say that the Fashion and Textile Museum’s small but dedicated team has worked tirelessly during this difficult time, securing our exhibition and workshop programmes, and continuing to share the joys of fashion and textiles with our audiences online.




We have also worked diligently to ensure that our commitment to the health and well-being of our visitors and staff is reflected in the safe visiting measures we now have in place. I am therefore confident that we will be welcoming our visitors back to enjoy Out of the Blue: Fifty Years of Designers Guild in a relaxed, engaging and safety-conscious environment.

We are now, more than ever, grateful to all our visitors and supporters and look forward to exploring our 2020/21 exhibition programme with them from Wednesday 5 August.