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CBC
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
From ribbon skirts to gusty leather: New exhibit explores London's defining fashion
A new exhibit at Museum London is showing off the style that has defined the city over the past 200 years. Fashion: Grit, Glamour and Guts opens on Saturday and will feature more than 100 pieces of clothing, accessories and fashion-themed artwork that highlights Londoners' style from textured ball gowns to simple graphic T-shirts. "What we wear says something about who we are," exhibit co-curator Amber Lloydlangston said. "We wanted to find out how we tell our stories and how we tell our truth through what we wear." All the pieces were worn by Londoners and are sorted into one of three sections: grit, glamour or guts. "Guts are things that are pushing boundaries and are future-thinking, looking forward," said co-curator Zahra McDoom, pointing to a women's fedora from the 1890s. "At the time, it was used as a symbol for the women's rights movement and gender equality." The exhibit also features clothing items from three local designers including a glamorous dress by Cynthia Laurent Cadogan, a gutsy jacket by Andrew Esdaile and gritty ribbon skirts by Felicia Huff. "[Huff] talks about the significance of the ribbon skirts for healing her people and for reclaiming Indigenous culture," McDoom said. "Two younger people who are also Indigenous from Chippewa of the Thames shared their ribbon skirts and what it means about preservation of culture and determination to continue." There are also more unassuming pieces that Londoners donated to the exhibit, such as a pair of leather pants that a high school student purchased at a downtown thrift store for a dollar representing the teenager's goth aesthetic and interest in sustainable fashion. "The significance of it is very meaningful," McDoom said. London's fashion trends are typically linked to larger western fashion trends, Lloydlangson said, adding that a clothing item's shape, colour and popularity can speak to the interests and values of a specific time period. Still, the curators say there are some traits that make Londoners' style stand out from the rest. "As you come through the gallery, you'll be impressed by the range of outfits, garments and style people have had across time, so I think Londoners have a history of creative dressing," McDoom said. Lloydlangston agreed, adding that Londoners tend to be bold in how they share their stories through clothing. "I think Londoners know what they can do with fashion, and they know they can communicate something about themselves through fashion, and they use it strategically," she said. "I find it's really fun how people weave fashion into their private and work lives."
CBC
09-02-2025
- General
- CBC
3 historians share local Black history they believe deserves more recognition
Social Sharing Southwestern Ontario's Black heritage, and the people responsible for documenting and preserving it for future generations, took centre stage this past week at Museum London. On Wednesday, the museum played host to a panel of six museum curators and historians from across southwestern Ontario, who shared details about the work their organizations do to save artifacts and the lived experiences of the local Black community. They also touched on the family histories that have been uncovered through their collections and research, efforts to engage young people and new arrivals with Black history, and the challenges around digitizing collections to make them more accessible. The event was conducted in partnership with the London Black Heritage Council as part of the museum's speakers' series "History Now!" Among those on hand were Irene Moore Davis of the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, Bryan and Shannon Prince of Buxton National Historic Site & Museum, Doug Robbins of Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society, Zahra McDoom of Museum London, and researcher Heather Rennalls. After the event, CBC News asked three of the panelists to share a piece of local Black history they feel deserves more attention, or to share something they learned in their research that was noteworthy to them. Zahra McDoom Museum London's Zahra McDoom on the city's historic Black newspaper 12 hours ago Duration 2:52 Zahra McDoom, TD curator of collections at Museum London, says one piece of local Black history she likes to call attention to is the Dawn of Tomorrow, the Black newspaper founded in London in 1923 by James Jenkins, copies of which are housed at the Western Archives. McDoom, who is TD Curator of Collections at Museum London, spoke about the Dawn of Tomorrow, the Black newspaper founded by James F. Jenkins and published in London beginning in 1923. "The Dawn of Tomorrow is a rich source for Canadian history, Canadian Black history, and it's written in the voices of the people," McDoom said. "It isn't some external gaze looking at the Black community and writing about them, but it comes from community voices. It comes from their own experiences." Copies of the newspaper are available on microfilm at the London Public Library and at Western University. Irene Moore Davis Irene Moore Davis on role men of African descent played in Upper Canada Rebellion 12 hours ago Duration 2:47 Irene Moore Davis, president of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society and assistant curator at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum in Essex County, says one piece of local Black history often overlooked is the role men of African descent played defending Fort Malden in Amherstburg during the 1837-1838 Upper Canada Rebellion. Davis, president of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society and assistant curator at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, said there are many stories worth telling, but one that stood out for her dates back to the 1837-1838 Upper Canada Rebellion. "Down in Amherstburg, there was a group of men of African descent from throughout Essex County, but most particularly Amherstburg and Colchester, who formed a Black militia to help defend the fort from the rebels and from their American supporters," she said. The leader of the militia, she said, was Josiah Henson, who founded the Dawn Settlement near Dresden for Black settlers who had escaped slavery in the United States. The community is now home to The Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History. Henson later served as the inspiration for the character Uncle Tom in the book Uncle Tom's Cabin. Heather Rennalls Heather Rennalls on the relationship between Harriet Tubman and John Brown 12 hours ago Duration 2:24 Heather Rennalls, an independent researcher and freelance writer based in Oxford County, said she was surprised to learn of the personal connection between Harriet Tubman and John Brown, and that the two were both allies and friends. Rennalls, an independent researcher and freelance writer based in Oxford County, said her research led her to discover more about the close friendship between abolitionists John Brown and Harriet Tubman. "John Brown had mentioned in one of his letters, when he was in Ingersoll, that Harriet Tubman was supposed to meet him," she said. Initially skeptical, she says she was surprised to learn the two were both allies and friends. The two first met in St. Catharines, Ont., in 1858. Tubman helped Brown plan the ill-fated raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory the following year in what is now West Virginia, an event which helped spark the Civil War.
