Exhibition: Poets in Vogue… exploring the language of fabric

We remember poets such as Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath and Edith Sitwell for their contributions to the feminist movement through poetry but we rarely consider the impact of their clothes, writes Molly Pavord.

This February will see the launch of the free exhibition Poets in Vogue at the National Poetry Library from February 16 until June 25 which will illuminate the way that 20th century female poets harnessed fashion as a subtle medium for activism.

Poets in Vogue was created by scholars Dr Sarah Parker and Dr Sophie Oliver, who worked with V&A costume designer Gesa Werner to create original installations inspired by the iconic ‘looks’ of women poets.

Dr Parker said: “The most interesting thing has been discovering the sheer variety of ways in which women poets interacted with fashion – even by rejecting notions of fashionability itself!

“From Edith Sitwell’s larger-than-life opulent gowns and capes, which are more like costumes than ordinary clothes really, to Audre Lorde’s designing her own asymmetrical kaftans to showcase her mastectomy following breast cancer, the exhibition shows that these poets were using dress in ways that were imaginative, playful, political and creative, reflecting their own complex identities.”

The collection includes a reconstruction of Anne Sexton’s red reading dress, creative interpretations of Audre Lorde, Edith Sitwell and Stevie Smith’s signature looks, a fabric-adaptation of a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks and the clothes performances of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha.

A skirt that belonged to Sylvia Plath will also be on display, on loan from a feminist bookstore The Second Shelf.

While gazing upon these items, visitors are invited to examine the relationship between the language used by the seven poets and the clothes they wore.

Picture: Anne Sexton, 1974 Picture: Arthur Furst