Fashioning the Crown

An exploration of power, invention and tradition - told through the lens of royal fashion - that uncovers a captivating hidden history of this very British institution.Fashioning the Crown will tell the story of a tumultuous half-century of British history through the lens of royal fashion and image-making. Informed by Justine's entirely original research in the Royal Archives, as well her own interactions with Elizabeth II and her family, it will reveal how, from the outbreak of the First World War, to 1960, the soft power of clothing played a crucial role in helping the Royal Family, and the nation, to navigate seismic changes and challenges. Justine will take us behind the glamour and mystique of the Crown, introducing us afresh to three generations of Royals, including the glamorous Queen Mary; the Chanel-wearing young flapper who would become the Queen Mother; and the little Princess Lillibet, already setting fashion trends at the age of three. Justine will reveal the crucial importance of image-making in an era of abdications and assassinations, and amidst the rise of revolutions and fascism. She will also uncover the fascinating,little-known lives of the couturiers behind the clothes. Figures like Hardy Amies, Edward Molyneux and Norman Hartnell had secrets that they kept in the shadows - from their sexuality, to their work in espionage - even as they dressed some of the most recognisable figures in the world.