À la Mode or Just Macabre?

Entrance to the Historic Textiles Gallery at The Charleston Museum.

Come view Lovely & Lethal: Killer Fashions from the Collection and discover the consequences of style, from clothing that could kill to accessories made out of endangered animals. These everyday objects can be part of some of the most exhilarating, intimate, or horrifying moments of our lives. Along with appreciating the outward appearance and the inherent beauty of these materials, it is crucial to question the deeper physical impact that fashion has on wearers’ bodies, workers’ lives, and the natural world, both animal and environmental.

(left) A sewing box that tested positive for arsenic, c. 1830 made of green papered cardboard, glass, and embroidery thread. Gift of Mrs. W. S. Lanneau, 1934. (right) Curator of Historic Textiles, Virginia Theerman, conducting arsenic testing on museum collection objects.

The first section of this exhibition will demonstrate the negative impacts of unregulated materials, and how the bodies of consumers are adversely affected by trends in society. For instance, consider arsenic as a component of historic dyes. Chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) invented Scheele’s Green in 1775. Using arsenic in his dye formulation, the new vivid shade was prevalent from the late 18th to the mid-19th century. Unfortunately, the general public did not realize the element that created this vibrant green was also highly toxic until an 1861 exposé was published in the London Times. Both workers and consumers developed rashes, open sores, and headaches, eventually leading to gangrene and death.

Installation of white cotton shirtwaists in the exhibition from the Collections of The Charleston Museum.

The next section will address workers in the fashion and textile industries, including advances in labor protections and the backslide caused by fast fashion. In the 18th century, seamstresses were paid low wages and suffered blindness along with severe exhaustion from working long hours by candlelight. Mid-19th century industrialization did not improve these conditions.

In 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City had a horrific fire that killed 146 of its 500 employees, mostly young Italian and Jewish immigrants. They worked on the top two floors of the 10-story building, and supervisors locked stairways and exits to prevent employees from taking breaks or stealing. When the fire broke out, 62 workers jumped or fell to their deaths. Though groups like the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union would advocate for and receive better protective legislation in the United States, these types of unsafe factory practices continue.

With increasing globalization, many companies have shifted garment production to countries where worker protections are not as strong and wages are significantly lower. Many human rights advocacy groups call garment industry work “modern slavery.” In 2013, the Rana Plaza garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, failed to adhere to building safety standards and collapsed, killing 1,134 people and injuring nearly 2,500.

Each shirtwaist displayed on the gallery wall represents 12 people killed in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, and 95 people killed at Rana Plaza.

(left) Eyeglasses Case, 1780-1810, made of shagreen leather (shark skin) covered wood with metal latch. Gift of Peter Manigault, 1998. (right) Feather Fan, 1910s-1930s, made of marabou ostrich feathers dyed in different colors. From the Collections of The Charleston Museum.

Finally, the impact of fashion on the natural environment will be shown through paired examples of garments and accessories with specimens from the museum’s Natural History Collections. When you think of animal products used in a fashion application, the first materials that come to mind are likely leather and fur. What started as a hunting industry has since evolved into industrialized fur farming, where animals are raised for their skins. Exotic and endangered species’ materials are now regulated and some materials, such as alligator or ostrich leather, can be recreated by processing cow hide, plastic, or paper.

Fashion designers now also have the option to create their clothing lines with faux fur. However, the use of fossil fuels for the production of synthetic materials like polyester, not to mention its indestructible afterlife, has a considerable impact on the environment. From another perspective, Inuit, First Nations, and other Indigenous peoples advocate that fur is part of their cultures, and their practices are built around sustainability and reverence for nature.

Based on the scholarship of Dr. Alison Mathews David, author of Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present, this exhibition explores fearsome fashions, sinister styles, and terrifying trends from the past, the present, and the future.

Enter the gallery to see Lovely and Lethal: Killer Fashions from the Collection….if you dare! On view now through April 20, 2025.

-Virginia Theerman, Curator of Historic Textiles October 2024

Select Bibliography

“A Grim Anniversary for Survivors of the Rana Plaza Disaster – The New York Times.” Accessed September 30, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/24/fashion/rana-plaza-anniversary.html.

“CITES.” Accessed September 30, 2024. https://cites.org/eng.

Cohen, Ronnie. “FDA Plan to Ban Hair Relaxer Chemical Is Long Overdue, but Many Dangerous Ingredients Remain.” Scientific American. Accessed September 30, 2024. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fda-plan-to-ban-hair-relaxer-chemical-is-long-overdue-but-many-dangerous-ingredients-remain/.

David, Alison Matthews. Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.

“Triangle Shirtwaist Fire | AFL-CIO.” Accessed September 30, 2024. https://aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-events/triangle-shirtwaist-fire.