Cotton Couture

Borrowing from its sister gallery, the Gallery of Costume, Manchester Art Gallery is displaying selected outfits from the Cotton Board, an organisation established to promote the use of cotton in fashion and to expand export trade. The exhibition shows how leading couturieres from the schools of London and Paris used the fabric - once seen as useable only for children’s and summer wear - for ball gowns and cocktail dresses.

Twenty of the most glorious dresses from the 1950s represent the larger collection, with designs by the likes of Pierre Cardin revealing how beautifully cotton has been adapted to create stunning gowns and suits.

Accompanying the collection are photographs and archive footage of catwalk show from the 1950s. It all acts as a perfect taster for a visit to the Gallery of Costume itself.