As promised, here is part 2 of ‘The Enchanted Palace’, a fantastic exhibition that is on at
Kensington Palace in London.

The Palace is currently being turned inside out by the builders working on its grounds -
part of its £12 million renovation project – and the dig is revealing the most fascinating
stories and secrets from the life of the 7 princesses who once lived, loved and shed
tears in this historic London landmark.

In association with WILDWORKS and featuring Vivienne Westwood, William Tempest,
Stephen Jones, Boudicca, Aminaka Wilmont and Echo Morgan, this fabulous exhibition
reveals the emotions and the drama that run deep through Kensington Palace’s history,
combining fashion, writing, performance, poetry, art and history like we’ve never
seen them before.

Now as promised, here are the fantastic Designers that took part in this fascinating
project:

Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood is well known for her fabulous reinterpretations of historical dresses.
Her work is frequently inspired by royal costume, so it comes as no surprise to see that
her beautiful fairy tale dress for the Enchanted Palace, is fit for the spirited, passionate
and charming princess Charlotte.

‘Charlotte at the Kings Staircase’

The princess will fall into the arms of the beloved.
She will be happy,
for a while.
On her wedding day there will be angels passing,
gods pronouncing
sages advising,
and crowds strewing the roads with roses
red as desire.
But the shadowy form has always been behind her.
She was running towards love
and dancing with death
all her life.

By Mercedes Kemp, WildWorks Writer for The Enchanted Palace.

Aminaka Wilmont
‘A Dress of Tears’:

William Tempest
‘A Dress for Dreaming of Freedom’:

Stephen Jones
‘Hats of the Divine Geometer’:

Boudicca
‘Dresses The Colour of Time’:

Echo Morgan
‘A Dress Of The World’

WILDWORKS
‘Enchantment Of Kensington Palace’

Aren’t these pieces fascinating?

I was most impressed by the work of Aminaka Wilmont and their ‘Dress Of Tears’.
The amazing fabric that they created, which drapes the shape of the mannequin,
is really a work of art on its own. The abstract print – made from photographs of
rain drops and smoke – really seems to capture the ghosts of all the children that
the Princess, who lived in that room, miscarried (Fourteen in total!)

It’s fascinating how the print appears to draw the spookiest little faces and little
hands of children, as it floats from wall to wall, across the bed of the princess
lifting the hollow carcass of Sue (the mannequin), which is covered by crystal tears…

Aminaka Wilmont - A Dress of Tears

And equally fascinating was the concept behind the young designer William Tempest:
‘A dress for Dreaming of Freedom’, inspired by young princess Victoria’s room, which
really seems to reek feelings of yearning for freedom…

‘The Sleeping Princess’
In this room sleeps a princess
who is always watched,
All eyes are upon her.
She is dressed each morning
she is fiercely corseted
encased in dresses
that feel like coffins.
She is fed milk and honey.
She learns singing, calligraphy, alchemy and French
just in case the day comes
when she might be Queen.
Her governess sits by her bed at night
reading fairytales to the sleeping princess.
One day, your prince will come.
One day you will wear a dress rearer than rubies
and one day you will go to the ball.
But every night,
there is a violet hour
when the governess sleeps
and the princess sleepwalks.
In the morning,
her bed is in disorder,
her feet are dirty,
the palace is in dispair.
Something must be done.
The Royal carpenters are called.
They pile up matresses on the princess’ bed
until it is so high,
that it almost reaches the ceiling
and they build a high chair for the governess
that is tall and spindly
that she may read and watch the sleeping princess.
She won’t get away now…

By Mercedes Kemp, WildWorks Writer for The Enchanted Palace.

Princess Victoria's room at the Enchanted Palace

William Tempest’s dress is made from hundreds of little origami birds
and it is perfectly positioned, high up on the left corner of the room,
in front of her bed, exactly were the princess would have looked at
each night, from her high bed, whilst dreaming of freedom.

William Tempest - A Dress For Dreaming Of Freedom

Stephen Jones’ hats really become alchemy in the room of Enlightenment.
His hats seem to enter a completely different dimension there, amongst
the busts of scientists, alchemists and philosophers. I love how he talks
about hats being this gravity defying objects, sitting on top of our heads
and the magic element that hats have, as they occupy their own time
and space.

Stephen Jones

I also loved the fabulous taxidermy and fur pieces combined with jewellery,
porcelain and accessories, they looked stunning! This lovely fella here is a
piece called “Hedge Row” by the artist Angela Singer.

Hedge Row by Angela Singer

I absolutely loved this exhibition as it proves that Fashion is not only
for the catwalk and it is about so much more than just pretty dresses.
It also shows just how talented, creative and sensitive Fashion Designers
really are. It would have been brilliant to include models too, as models
are fantastic actors and actresses. Wouldn’t it be lovely if they were
strutting around dressed as princesses as part of the quest? or doing
live ‘princess inspired’ photoshoots a la Emily Blunt for Vanity Fair?
[click here to see]

Nevertheless, this exhibition is brilliant! So if you are in London, don’t
miss it! You will absolutely love it and you will learn so much from it…
and if you are not in London, I hope you enjoyed seeing it through the
videos and images in this post.

After seeing this fabulous exhibition, I am totally obsessed with the life of
Queen Victoria – The longest reigning Queen in Britain – So much so, that I
got myself a copy of…

Becoming Queen by Kate Williams

… which I am reading at the moment and I am loving every second of it
as this is not only a history book (I got it from the History section at the
bookstore!) but it is also a book filled with fairy tales and wonderful fashion
references.

Fashion and History make a fabulous combination!

Lots of love,

xoxo
Nonita