Fashion has its roots in forestry
THE Forestry Commission is 100 years old this year, but not many people know that the world-famous organisation has its roots in Devon.
Now a centenary celebration is being staged to mark that fact – and it features clothing made of wood bark!
It was at Killerton that Devon MP Francis Acland helped form the committee which led to the creation of the Commission – and at neighbouring Eggesford where the first conifers were planted on Lord Clinton’s estate after he had been appointed as one of the organisation’s first commissioners.
Killerton is now in the hands of the National Trust, which is staging a fashion exhibition called the Tree of Life to celebrate the local connection.
“The exhibition explores the connection between trees and what we wear, including high-fashion pieces made from barkcloth by acclaimed British eco-fashion designer, José Hendo,” a Trust spokesman told the WMN.
The exhibition demonstrates how materials processed from various species of trees can be used to make fibre, cloth, dyes, paper, footwear and headgear. It includes examples of clothing made from these materials, as well as decorative pieces patterned with motifs inspired by seasonal trees, leaves, blossom and fruit.
Ugandan-born Hendo, who has been featured on various international Fashion Week runways including London and New York, promotes sustainability and challenges today’s throwaway culture in her work.
“Hendo’s work is just some amongst pieces chosen from the Trust’s much-loved fashion collection, housed upstairs on the first floor at Killerton,” said the spokesman. “Other interesting items include a Privy Councillor’s suit worn by Francis Acland MP, embroidered with symbolic oak leaves and acorns in gold thread. Also, visitors can find out how the popular ‘paisley’ pattern arrived on textiles via Indian designs based on a pine cone motif.”
The exhibition also launches a new section which has been added to existing displays. Called the ‘handling corridor’ it has been designed so that visitors can discover more about ancient and tra- ditional processes of making cloth from natural layers found beneath tree bark.
The exhibition will also feature an project by Exeter School of Art (Exeter College) art and design students echoing the theme of trees and woodland.
Shelley Tobin, costume curator at Killerton, explains: “From designs derived from the ‘Tree of Knowledge’ – and the ancient Persian flowering tree, or ‘Tree of Life’ – to the more prosaic patterns of nature, decorative pieces celebrate the valuable resources provided by orchard and woodland.
“Printed, painted, woven and embroidered textiles dating from the 18th century onwards are all represented in the exhibition.”
The story of Francis Acland’s role in the Forestry Commission continues on the ground floor at Killerton with another new exhibition entitled ‘Seeing the wood and the trees.’ The exhibition looks at what happened in 1919 when the Forestry Commission was founded and how Killerton is working to look after woodlands and trees on the estate for the future.
Visit nationaltrust.org.uk/killerton. The exhibition runs until 2 November. Free to Trust members.