I arrived in London to visit my 95 year old Mother and work for an English client one day before the exhibit ‘The Glamour of Belleville Sassoon’ was scheduled to close at the Fashion & Textile Museum (a small museum south of the Thames river -nearest tube stop: London Bridge). What a delight to discover that indeed David Sassoon was in the gallery that afternoon.

My sister and I began in the first small room which had a collection of 5 garments worn by Royals. (No photos allowed!) Belleville Sassoon has dressed all the female members of the royal family apart from Her Majesty the Queen. On display was the going away outfit  created  for  Princess  Diana  for  her  wedding  to   Prince Charles and during the small tour that David Sassoon gave us he told us he had been very fortunate to find the glorious coral two-piece outfit and have it o  display.   It was thought to be lost. He had made two jackets for the dress: a short sleeve version for warmer weather and a long sleeve one if it was cold.

In the main gallery almost at its entrance was displayed the Lifetime Achievement Award given to David Sassoon at the ASDP conference in Chicago in 2008.

That gallery had a large collection of custom couture garments, with a small grouping made for several American socialites.

The upper gallery had ready-to-wear garments including several prototypes of Vogue patterns.

Also in glass cases were some beaded bodice pieces ready to be stitched together.

When I asked David the order of construction it was as you would expect (at least for those of us familiar with stitching together a French jacket):

• construct and fit muslin 
• take apart, cut fashion fabric and thread trace stitching lines on fashion fabric 
• bead or embroidery or hand  paint 
• stitch the beaded/embroidered/hand painted pieces together 
• bead, embroider or hand paint over the seams

And finally in a room being set up for a class the  following day were a series of sketch boards from the decades in which Belleville Sassoon had been in business.

I can’t think of a better way to start a stay in London!

If you are planning a visit, be sure to check out the Fashion and Textile Museum

Written by Helen Haughey