A passion for fashion - Antonia Keaney

A Passion for Fashion provides an amusinglook at some of the clothes, underclothes, shoes and accessories worn by manyof the more colourful characters in Blenheim Palace's 300-year history, as wellas a cautionary look at the role that arsenic, lead, mercury and mousetrapsplayed in the fashions of the day.

Adult and children's fashions fromthe 18^th and 19^th centuries are examined, as well ascontemporary style from renowned designers including Christina Stambolian,Stephen Jones, Christian Louboutin and most recently of all, Dolce &Gabbana.

Blenheim Palace's on-goingrelationship with the House of Dior, is celebrated with a look at the earlycatwalk shows of the 1950s, and the launch of Dior's Cruise collection, whichtook place at Blenheim in May2016.

The Palace is renowned for manythings, but one of its leading claims to fame is that it is the birth place ofa certain Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill - twice prime minister of GreatBritain and accomplished writer, artist, sometime bricklayer and arguably, infashion terms, the inventor of the ubiquitous and ever popular 'Onesie'!