Lecture & Afternoon Tea | The History of Garment Care and Laundering with Dr Paola di Trocchio

From Ancient Rome to the present day, domestic laundering practices have evolved along with societal attitudes around hygiene as well as practical considerations such as access to water. In prehistoric times, people lived near streams, while in the Renaissance, monasteries might have piped water in but the poor still had to hand-carry their water home from wells and rivers. Developments in science also occurred alongside certain myths. For example, in the Middle Ages, the dark was believed to carry diseases and a layer of dirt was believed to protect one from illness. Conversely, in the nineteenth century household manuals carried specific recipes for the removals of oil stains on silk cloth and read like sorcerer’s spell books.

Join Dr Paola Di Trocchio to discover the evolution of garment care and laundering from Ancient Rome to the present day.

Dr Paola Di Trocchio is a leading fashion curator, writer, and speaker. In her twenty-year career at the National Gallery of Victoria, she curated and co-curated twenty-two fashion and textiles exhibitions including Edward Steichen and Art Deco Fashion, The Krystyna Campbell-Pretty Fashion Gift, 200 Years of Australian Fashion, Guo Pei among others.  She was co-ordinating co-curator for The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier from the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. She is currently working freelance on various projects. 

Your ticket includes a lecture by special guest Dr Paola Di Trocchio, and an afternoon tea of petit fours and tea or Market Lane coffee, served on our Wedgwood fine bone china, and time to browse our exclusive range of books, gifts, and homewares at TJC Emporium.

This event is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details. NOTE: Tickets for this event do not include access to our house museum, Fairhall. Guided tours of the current exhibition can be booked separately.

This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

Presented as part of the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Independent Programme