The Making Of The Museum

CUSTOMISING THE ARCHIVE

With the help of designers, tailors and embroiderers, 20 new mannequins were designed for the Simone Handbag Museum. Taking traditional museum mannequin busts as a starting point, each of the mannequins was developed in response to the bag that it now holds within the display.

A cast forearm was joined to the standard articulated bust arm in each case drawing attention to the positions created by holding particular styles of bags, and a fashionable fragment contemporary to the bag was tied on as a prop to remind the viewer of the bagʼs original context.

This attention to detail is carried through the museum. Each bag on the historic floor is held by a bespoke claw; the handles to the archive drawers cast from the clasps of bags from the collection.