Fashion and Textile Museum
The Fashion and Textile Museum presents varied, creative, and engaging exhibitions, alongside a selection of educational courses, talks, events and workshops. In place of a permanent display is a diverse programme of temporary exhibitions, displaying a broad range of innovative fashion and textiles from designers and makers around the world.
Founded in 2003 by Dame Zandra Rhodes as a space to showcase British fashion design, the museum is housed in a beautiful and distinctive building, designed by renowned Mexican architect, Ricardo Legorreta. The iconic orange and pink building houses, not only the museum but residential flats and Dame Zandra Rhodes design studio.
Since 2007 the Museum has been operated by Newham College, London – one of Europe’s largest further education colleges. Under the colleges ownership the Fashion and Textile Museum has broadened its mission. Today, the Museum has staged over 30 major exhibitions, featuring British and international designers, artists, and brands and is dedicated to celebrating and exploring textiles, fashion and related disciplines.
The Museum holds a small permanent collection comprised of 20th Century fashion and textiles compiled by Zandra Rhodes in the early years of the institution. The collection is used across our learning programmes and a selection of items, curated by museum volunteers, can be found on display in the Museum foyer.
Image courtesy of Fashion + Textile Museum