Crimes of Fashion

A story of French printed and painted textiles

The first talk in this exclusive lecture series, delivered by Northumbria University’s Associate Professor of History, Dr. Felicia Gottmann.

The Bowes Museum holds some of the most beautiful eighteenth-century French textiles still in existence as well as numerous portraits of – sometimes mysterious – subjects in period clothing. This talk delves into the story behind them.
For nearly eighty years, from the late seventeenth to the mid eighteenth century, all printed and painted textiles were banned in France. And yet everybody wore them: from princes of the blood to shopkeepers and peasants. Thousands of people were arrested, while mounted gangs of smugglers fought pitched battles with customs officers and army. But when the French state finally gave in and legalised their import and production, they faced a steep hurdle of technological catch up. How could France, after such a long prohibition, start rivalling production in Britain, Germany, and above all India? The answer is another story of skulduggery: of smuggling, industrial espionage, and migration – which ultimately led to the beautiful toiles we still copy and admire today.

Felicia Gottmann is Associate Professor of History at the University of Northumbria and Principal Investigator of the UKRI-funded project “Migration-Adaptation-Innovation, 1500-1800.”