Last September Gucci launched its cruise 2017 campaign with a minute-long vintage-looking film starring British actress Vanessa Redgrave, and conceived under the creative direction of Alessandro Michele and British filmmaker Glen Luchford. Redgrave played a matriarch dressed in feminine printed Gucci ensembles, seemingly enjoying herself in the company of her descendants, who run freely across the rooms, fields and gardens of the aristocratic estate of Chatsworth, located in the English region of Derbyshire. 

 

A few months later, Michele returned to the country house to kick-off Chatsworth’s own fashion venture, sponsored by his label. House Style, an exhibition curated by American Vogue’s editor-at-large Hamish Bowles, boasts none less than five centuries of history through pieces worn by Chatsworth’s residents, the refined Cavendish family. Over lunch – and in the company of some 50 guests – Michele was heard reminiscing on his past stay at Chatsworth and the inspiration he drew from it: “I came downstairs for breakfast in my slippers, and everywhere around me were images of flowers and animals, the same symbols that I love. I felt at home here.”

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“I came downstairs for breakfast in my slippers, and everywhere around me were images of flowers and animals, the same symbols that I love. I felt at home here”

 

The inspiration the Italian designer has drawn from Chatsworth’s sophisticated yet spirited decoration is perfectly in tune with his signature eclectic aesthetic, as evidenced in his two more recent collections at Gucci. The newest pre fall campaign, also directed by Luchford, just came out a few weeks ago. The designer has created two dresses for House Style, one for Amanda Heywood Lonsdale, the current Duchess of Devonshire and one for her daughter-in-law, Laura Montagu. 

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Laura Montagu – or Lady Burlington, as she is also known – is the mastermind behind the exhibition. The thought of a clothing-based exhibition came to her after going through the house’s collection in search of a christening gown for her son. The former model then realised there was enough material in the archives to tell a story, which is why she invited her friend Mr Bowles to help her in the venture. Now, six years later, the exhibition has become their “most ambitious one to date”, according to her father-in-law Peregrine Cavendish, the 12th Duke of Devonshire.

 

For House Style is a story about its residents and their love for fashion, as displayed on 150 mannequins spread across 26 state rooms. Diane Naylor, photo librarian at Chatsworth House, explains it all began with the noblewoman Bess of Hardwick, who founded the dynasty and amassed her fortune by marrying some of the most powerful men in 16th century England. She built the house in 1552. Thereafter, stylish male and female descendants have carried her legacy on and left their own sartorial mark in the family’s history. 

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"Stylish male and female descendants have carried the legacy on and left their own sartorial mark in the family’s history"

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The now-deceased Dowager of Devonshire, Deborah Cavendish, was not only one of the infamous socialite Mitford sisters, but also one of Chatsworth’s most stylish residents. Debo, as she was lovingly called, was known for having her fun with clothes while staying grounded, as her pair of velvet Elvis slippers would attest. “She used to say she bought her clothes from fashion houses, trade shows or Mark & Spencer’s,” Diane Naylor says. “She wasn’t discerning as to which one.”

 

One of her most iconic pieces is a pink satin Balmain gown, and in 1995 she was photographed by Bruce Webber wearing the gown while feeding her beloved chickens. “She kept some things for sentimental reasons, but generally thought nothing of passing clothes on,” Lady Burlington told the New York Times. “As a result, her garments could turn up in the most unlikely of places.” 

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Deborah’s husband, Andrew Cavendish, knew his way around fashion, too. One of his quirky traditions included commissioning identical navy jumpers that read humorous phrases, such as ‘Life’s a Bitch Then You Die’, ‘Far Better Not’, and ‘Never Marry a Mitford’. He would also gift his wife modern and vintage insect brooches, which are displayed in the state wardrobe room next to colourful scrapbooks and plates, and right in front of one of the dresses designed by Alessandro Michele. “I think beautiful animals represent ultimate power in nature,” exclaimed the designer at the House Style inaugural lunch. “And the power of symbols is something this family has always understood very well.” References of the flying bugs, as well as the jumpers, were present in Michele’s latest catwalk show. 

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"One of his quirky traditions included commissioning identical navy jumpers that read humorous phrases, such as ‘Life’s a Bitch Then You Die’, ‘Far Better Not’, and ‘Never Marry a Mitford’"

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Hamish Bowles said to the New York Times: “Clothing is the most vivid entry point into getting a sense of how people of the past lived and existed in an environment for even a single moment in time.” This is particularly true for the grand 1897 Devonshire House Ball, thrown in celebration of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. The fancy dress event gathered 400 guests, all of whom famously had their picture taken by the iconic Lafayette Photography. One of the looks captioned was that of Duchess Louise – wife to the 8th Duke of Devonshire – who dressed up as Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra wearing an embellished Jean Phillipe Worth dress with a matching headdress.

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This dress can be found in what is perhaps the most decadent section of House Style, ‘Dressing to impress”, where family relics from jewellery to ceremonial chairs adorn every corner. Also displayed there a pale blue Vivienne Westwood gown, splashed with mystical water creatures. As Diane Naylor explains, the inspiration behind the dress is the painting behind it, a portrait of Elizabeth I wearing an outfit in a similar pattern.

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Duchess Georgiana Spencer, the first wife of the 5th Duke of Devonshire and famously known as ‘Empress of Fashion’, is another key fashionista in the exhibition. A painting of her posing as a celestial creature sits dramatically behind a John Galliano mint gown for Christian Dior, inspired by the Duchess. The dress is worn by Stella Tennant – another famed Cavendish family member – on the cover of the exhibition’s book, as shot by Mario Testino for Vogue. 

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Tennant’s avant-garde and often punk style is seen throughout House Style juxtaposing her relatives' more ceremonial outfits. In a room known as the Painted Hall, for instance, is a black Alexander McQueen dress modelled by a young Tennant, opposing a Mistress of the Robe coronation gown worn at the coronation of George VI in 1937 by Duchess Mary Cecil. And in the Chapel, where christening, wedding and funeral attire exude solemnity, Tennant’s defiant Helmut Lang wedding dress is a showstopper.  

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Towards the end of the exhibition is the library, a half-lit room of high ceilings and wooden shelves housing 72,000 books. Very reminiscent of Chatsworth, Gucci’s pre-fall 2017 shots feature static models in outfits exuding a range of colour and pattern standing in the corners of a library not dissimilar to the estate’s very own. “This is the most rock n’ roll place I’ve seen,” Michele confessed at the launch event last March. In Michele’s creations, the legacy of Chatsworth House lives on. 

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House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth is on until October 22nd this year. An accompanying book including an article by Hamish Bowles and photographs by Thomas Loof, Cecil Beaton and Mario Testino, is for sale at the estate. For tickets and additional information, visit https://www.chatsworth.org/book-tickets/.