B. Benjamin Weigel and Kristen P. Ahern, “Dressing the Ommegang” (U.K.)

Our project aimed to study period garments at the Victoria and Albert Museum Clothworker’s Institute and produce diagrams based on the research. We hoped to enhance the community’s understanding of the costumes they are seeing and how clothing was produced at the time of The Triumph of Isabella. We added a leg to our trip to attend and photograph the current reenactment of the Ommegang, thus our goal expanded to become a compare and contrast exercise of both the clothing and the event itself and that represented in the paintings on display in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library Gallery. We were able to successfully assist in dressing the cast of the “Triumph of Isabella Immersive Experience” based in part by our experiences on this research project. Understanding the loose presentation of history at the reenactment empowered us to focus on creating the best spectacle possible and let go of minor period details while also maintain an understanding of period aesthetics. We also have an extensive library of photographs and detailed diagrams of the studied garments to share with our peers. Besides the intended education in studying garments that we were able to accomplish, we have learned about the communication in engaging in this type of museum or archival research and can more easily approach it in the future.

-B. Benjamin Weigel and Kristen P. Ahern