The new home of museum for old fashion
The new home of Bath’s internationally renowned Fashion Museum has been announced.
It will reopen in the Old Post Office on New Bond Street after almost 60 years in the Assembly Rooms.
A new archive for storing the collection will also be created at Bath Spa University’s Creative Arts Quarter in Locksbrook.
The existing museum is to close on October 30 and the collection will be moved to temporary storage until the new venue is ready.
Bath Fashion Museum will continue to lend items to other museums while it is shut.
Bath and North East Somerset Council said the new museum and archive would open in three to eight years’ time, depending on fundraising. The council has applied for £20 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund to complete the £37m project.
It is hoped that revamping the Fashion Museum will draw visitors to Bath and create jobs for local people. The local authority has also been given £2.4m by the West of England Combined Authority to regenerate Milsom Quarter, including the museum.
Cllr Kevin Guy, leader of B&NES, said: “Located in the heart of Bath, the Old Post Office presents us with a unique opportunity to create one of the world’s great museums of fashion.
“It will be more accessible, engage with a wider range of people, tell a greater range of stories than we’ve ever been able to do before and will help to boost surrounding businesses.
“The relocation of the Fashion
Museum to the Old Post Office forms part of our wider Milsom Quarter Masterplan, an ambitious 20-year vision to transform the Milsom Quarter area of Bath into a fashion destination for the South West, attracting creative industries to the area, relocating the fashion museum and providing 180 new homes.
“The project will not only provide a home for this internationally important collection but will also provide a strong benefit to the local area.
“Together, the new museum and fashion collection archive will increase visits and overnight stays to the area – boosting the visitor economy and employment and helping to catalyse the regeneration of an area of the city centre hard hit by Covid.”
He added: “It will provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities to local communities and increase access to, and use of, one of the world’s leading museum collections of fashionable dress for education, creative industries and members of the public.
“It will also provide cultural engagement opportunities to local audiences who have traditionally not visited the Fashion Museum.”
Rosemary Harden, manager of the fashion museum, said: “The fashion museum’s collection is of national and international significance.
“It is one of the best museum collections of fashion and dress in the world, as well as being a vital part of the heritage and cultural history of the city of Bath.
“It is important that we are able to care for this world-class collection and make it accessible to everyone who wishes to visit, and our future buildings are equipped to allow us to do this.
“We feel that the Old Post Office offers great opportunities to display the museum collection in different ways and will allow us to develop future events, exhibitions, learning spaces, etc.
“The collection is so extensive that we can use it as a touchstone to explore a variety of contemporary issues such as sustainability and identity.
“Through our community consultation so far, we’ve found that the collection can fascinate, delight and inspire.
“While the museum is closed, we will continue to develop our loans programme, so that supporters of the fashion museum across the world will continue to be able to see the collection in other galleries and museums.
“In addition, you will still be able to view the museum digitally and there will be opportunities to take part in activities and events throughout the closure period.”