Paisley shawl on display at new V&A
Pride of place for icon
A Paisley pattern shawl that is more then 170 years old will take pride of place in Scotland’s newest museum.
This weekend will see the longawaited opening of V&A Dundee, which is billed as Scotland’s first design museum.
Among the displays will be a major section on Scotland’s influence on fashion, and this will include an exquisite Paisley shawl dating from 1845.
Joanna Norman, director of the V&A Research Institute and lead curator of the Scottish Design Galleries at V&A Museum, said the shawl has a major place in the story of Scotland’s manufacturing and fashion industries.
“The influence that Scotland has had, and continues to have, on the world of fashion is truly remarkable,” she said.
“From the global adoption of fabrics such as tartans and Harris Tweed, to the enduring popularity of Paisley patterns and Fair Isle jumpers, the impact of Scottish design on fashion is as impressive as it is wide-ranging.
“Innovation plays a key role in the story of Scottish fashion. The willingness to push boundaries, experiment and problem-solve has resulted in innovative designs, such as in performance wear, that have over time become iconic.”
The shawl, which is part of the V&A’s own collection, was designed in Paisley by Charles Burgess.
And the display tells how, in the 18th century, Paisley was transformed from a rural town into a global centre of textile manufacturing.
This was rooted in the skills of a small community of handloom weavers who had earned a reputation for producing fine fabrics from the seventeenth century, developing particular expertise and success in the weaving of silk gauze from 1759, V&A Dundee says.
In 1805, following the introduction of cotton spinning, the weaving of shawls began in Paisley.
The ‘imitation Indian’ shawl, as it was first known, featuring the characteristic teardrop or pine cone pattern, became the town’s main product over the course of the nineteenth century.
But the design soon evolved its own distinct characteristics and the town’s shawl production became so successful that the teardrop became known as the Paisley pattern.
The patter is now considered a design classic and remains very popular today.