ROSE BERTIN: Marie Antoinette’s dressmaker with Paola Di Trocchio

Marie-Jeanne [Rose] Bertin (1747-1813) was the first celebrity fashion designer and is widely credited with having brought fashion and haute couture to the forefront of popular culture. Establishing her own business as a fashion merchant at just 23, she was introduced to Marie Antoinette after Louis XVI ascended the throne and her future was secured. Marie Antoinette was so enamoured with Rose Bertin that twice a week, Bertin would present her newest creations to the queen and spend hours discussing them. Bertin’s position as the designer to the queen also secured her role as the leading fashion designer of the French aristocracy. This lecture will discuss their unique relationship and the designs that ensued.

Paola Di Trocchio is a leading fashion curator, writer and speaker. In her 20-year career at the National Gallery of Victoria, she curated and co-curated 22 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 and was co-ordinating co-curator for The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier from the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. She is currently completing her doctoral thesis.

Your ticket includes tea or Market Lane coffee served before the lecture, and time to browse our exclusive range of books, gifts, and homewares at TJC Emporium.

This lecture 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 exhibition-house, Fairhall. Guided tours of the current exhibition can be booked separately.

This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

Image: Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Marie Antoinette with a Rose, 1783. Palace of Versailles, Versailles.