50 Years After the Flames: Ulster Museum Reveals a Fashion Treasure Reborn
Ulster Museum, Interior, Belfast
Fifty years after a devastating fire destroyed most of the Ulster Museum’s acclaimed costume and textile collection, a new exhibition at the museum will showcase and celebrate what is now one of the most important textile and fashion collections in Western Europe.
The Ashes to Fashion exhibition (27 February – 13 September) is a must-visit experience for fashion lovers and social history enthusiasts alike with approximately 120 carefully curated objects on display. It will feature rarely seen items, including the sole survivor of the 1976 fire – the Lennox Quilt. This exquisite, embroidered, silk and linen piece was made in Ireland in 1712 and features tiny pale green stitched squares and richly coloured, oriental-inspired floral embroidery, neatly bound in green silk.
The original collection had around 10,000 items including rare linen damasks, an Elizabethan embroidered jacket and 18th-century dresses and dolls. Over 50 years, the Belfast museum has painstakingly rebuilt its textile and costume holdings through thoughtful curation, acquisition, generous donations and bequests.
Also on display in the exhibition will be four items from around 250 pieces recently acquired from the private Lanto Synge Needlework Collection. These are primarily English textiles dating from the 16th–19th century including woolwork, embroidered panels, pictures, samplers, hangings and valances, as well as some items from France, India and China. Among them is a rare stumpwork embroidery casket from the 1660s, which will be the earliest object on display. These historic textile masterpieces have never been exhibited publicly before.
Beautiful stumpwork casket dated 1660 donated by Lanto Synge © National Museums NI
Alongside the heritage pieces will be contemporary fashion by iconic designers like Alexander McQueen, Carolina Herrera, Coco Chanel and Versace as well as designs by renowned Irish designers JW Anderson and the late Paul Costelloe.
The exhibition tells a powerful story of destruction, resilience and creativity. It explores the emotional and cultural impact of the loss, the 50-year recovery process that followed, and the wider significance of fashion as a record of identity, cultural credibility and craftsmanship.
The award-winning Ulster Museum is also home to multiple art galleries, natural science galleries and artefact collections spanning 10,000 years of history. Among the highlights are an Egyptian mummy, a full-size dinosaur skeleton and gold from the Spanish Armada.
Botanic Gardens Belfast
The museum sits in the grounds of Botanic Gardens in the University Quarter of Belfast. Here you can visit the impressive Victorian Palm House and Tropical Ravine in the gardens, wander through the grounds of Queen’s University and admire the grand architecture of the Lanyon building, and stop for a drink or a meal in one of the excellent eateries in this cosmopolitan area.
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