In a new blog, we look at how DRI member the Hunt Museum is working to preserve the ‘Sybil Connolly’ collection of haute couture design by both conserving the physical collection materials and digitally preserving the paper-based material on the DRI for long-term access and discovery.
In late 2021, the Hunt Museum joined the Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) as a member to widen access to their eclectic collections of art, antiquities, and design. In this blog, we look at how the Hunt Museum is working to preserve the ‘Sybil Connolly Collection’ of haute couture design by both conserving the physical collection materials in the Hunt Museum and digitally preserving the paper-based material on the DRI for long-term access and discovery.
About the Sybil Connolly Collection
Sybil Connolly (1921–1998) was a pioneering fashion innovator renowned for creating haute couture from Irish textiles. Dubbed by the media as ‘Dublin’s Dior’, she was one of the first Irish fashion designers to achieve international success, working with New York department stores like Bloomingdales and Lord & Taylor. Sybil’s designs were beloved by fashion icons like America’s First Lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis and many of her designs were featured in fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar in the 1950s.
Image: Design sketch, Bluebird/Sybil Connolly/Paper/20th century/Sybil Connolly Collection/CC0
The Hunt Museum holds a large archive of material related to Sybil’s work, donated by her nephew John Connolly, including her haute couture, sketches, scrapbooks, fabric, wallpaper, ceramic, and glass. Due to wear and tear, many of the haute couture dresses require conservation. The Hunt Museum is currently running a crowdsourced fundraising campaign called ‘A Stitch in Time’ to raise €12,500 towards the cost of employing a professional conservator to restore Sybil’s garments so that these invaluable examples of Irish design can continue to be a source of admiration and inspiration for future generations. As well as working to protect the haute couture in the physical collection, the Hunt Museum is dedicated to digitally preserving the design material for long-term access on the DRI. Sian McInerney from the Hunt Museum elaborates that:
A Stitch in Time crowdfunding campaign aims to fund crucial conservation work on the beautiful Sybil Connolly designs we have in our collection. These garments are excellent examples of Sybil’s use of Irish fabrics such as pleated linen and Carrickmacross lace. They were treasured and loved by the women that wore them and we want to preserve them so they can be safely exhibited and enjoyed by the public into the future. We see the preservation of the physical garments going hand-in-hand with the digital preservation of the paper-based material. By publishing the collection through the DRI, it will be digitally preserved, accessible and usable for all.
The Hunt Museum was awarded a Heritage Council community grant in 2021 to produce high-quality digital scans of the collection’s paper-based material including design sketches, sketchbooks, magazines, photographs, fabrics, wallpapers, and also scrapbooks. The publication and preservation of this digitised material will provide invaluable resources for researchers, creative professionals, fashion enthusiasts, and anyone interested in Sybil and the social history of Irish women and design. The Hunt Museum plans to publish the full collection of sketches, sketchbooks, and images under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0) licence to ensure the materials can be easily discovered and reused in research and education. The publication of the open access digital collection will be complemented by initiatives to widen physical and virtual engagement with the Hunt Museum collections through events such as Wikipedia Editathon and strong links with the textile department of Limerick School of Art & Design (LSAD) and other research groups.
The DRI looks forward to working with the Hunt Museum to preserve the Sybil Connolly collection for sustained access so that it can be discovered and enjoyed now and in the future. Keep an eye on our Twitter and Instagram accounts for collection publication announcements.
To contribute to ‘A Stitch in Time’ or to find out more about the campaign, visit the campaign page: https://www.huntmuseum.com/stories/sybil-connolly/a-stitch-in-time/
Notes
[1] Museum, The Hunt. “About Sybil.” The Hunt Museum. Accessed January 27, 2022. https://www.huntmuseum.com/stories/sybil-connolly/about-sybil/.
By DRI Communications and Engagement Coordinator Áine Madden
