#cathy hay

[phoenixyfriend]

HI DO YOU WANT SOME COSTUBE DRAMA THAT TURNED KINDA WHOLESOME

Pt 1: The Drama

Okay so a long-ass time ago (I think like 15 years), a British costume historian on youtube by the name of Cathy Hay decided she was going to remake 'the peacock Worth gown' and started a kickstarter for it. She made a bunch of money, but the actual work ended up being much more than she expected, so the project kept getting delayed.

In the years after, she befriended the now much more famous Bernadette Banner. They got close enough for cross-Atlantic trips to visit, etc. They were best friends and often joked that they were the same person.

Drama started riling up as people criticized Hay for not engaging meaningfully with the problematic history of the gown in question, which had been made for the wife of a British Governor of India during the 19th century, for a party celebrating British imperialism in India, and the gown's shining feature was Indian embroidery which was almost certainly underpaid, and that embroidery was the massively time-consuming bit that had been delaying her this whole time.

It was a whole thing that she sort of? Tried to address? buuuut The thing is, one of the seemingly obvious ways to manage this conflict would be to coordinate with an Indian embroiderer. In fact, a very accomplished specialist did reach out to her about collaborating on this! And she ghosted him! Maybe even blocked, I don't remember, but the thing was that he was ready and willing to do this cool project that could explore and reimagine a beautiful but morally ugly example of their shared countries' histories.

And she just… kept refusing to engage.

And then people started pointing out the weirdly predatory marketing she had for an online product/newsletter she had, and the discourse kept building as people realized overall that she was just… not as good a person as she claimed to be.

It got bad enough that Banner broke off the friendship, in large part because of that refusal to engage meaningfully with the loaded history of the Worth gown project

Pt 2: The Wholesome

So, a few days ago, Bernadette Banner released a video of her making a Regency gown. It's a very standard kind of project for her, just using old patterns and adding a touch of her own gothic tastes with historical methods to make a cool piece of clothing that explores costume history.

Halfway through, she has a call with someone she is planning to do a different video with. We don't know what the video is, but!

The thing is

The person she is having this call with

Is the Indian embroiderer, Mayankraj Singh, that Cath Hay ghosted.

And the video continues on with Banner and Singh talking about her Regency gown project and just. He ends up making an embroidered chiffon overgown with a crow motif. And it just feels very wholesome and I love to see this all coming back around.

(Okay, double-checked and apparently Hay requested a sample from Singh, and then ghosted him after she got photos of it)

In late September, another costumer, Miah Grace, released a video noting that, in 2020, Hay had requested an embroidery sample from with Mayankraj Singh, founder of the luxury fashion brand Atelier Shikaarbagh. Indian embroiderers in this shop possess skills that go back seven generations. Singh reportedly made a sample made but only sent Hay photos of it. After Hay stopped responding for many months, Singh went live on Instagram to explain what happened. Apparently, when his head embroiderer found the sample, he burned it, and scolded Singh for making it. “He said it was an inauspicious design,” Singh said, “and we do not make it anymore.” Hay later apologized to Singh, and he now considers the matter settled. - Craftsmanship Magazine

Anyway, yeah, after all of that from a few years ago, it was kind of exciting to see Banner collaborating with Singh

And she's so excited to open the package! Happy screaming!

It's so sweet.

He had his team embroider their names on the hem And she loves it

I am living for this vicarious excitement

(She does lay it on a bit thick at the end, but you know what. I'll take it.)

OH and the ending involves her attending the ball with Nami Sparrow, one of the creators of Indian background (Indian-American) that was a voice of Expertise criticizing Cathy Hay a few years ago.

Which is like. Tacit endorsement? If Singh alone wasn't enough.

Anyway yeah I lost my mind a little about this.

[creativity-of-death]

You ever realize that because of modern ways of manufacturing and capitalism that you don’t understand things anymore? Like I was looking at socks recently because I need some that come up the calves and are a lot thicker than the ankle cut cotton babies I normally wear.

I’m sorry there’s sock weights??? Light, mid, and heavy weights?? And like sock lengths all have different names like crew instead of just the ankle socks?? And the weights matter for things like different shoe types and activities outside of how much do I want my feet to sweat??

And then I did my adhd, ex-history major, rabbit holeing into a hyper focus moment and I learned that until the last several hundred years that socks were all knit. And now they’re not I think? They still look knit just incredibly tightly done when you look at the weave? (But I’m also not a knitter so idk)

Also one of my historical favorite crafts came up (nålebinding!) in sock history so that was cool!

And I just had a very visceral awareness of the knowledge that I already intellectually knew which is that before the industrial revolution, we all would have known the type of weight and height and fabric and method needed to actually purchase and/or make our wardrobes instead of having to spend 30 hours doing research, giving up and guessing at what you need, and then making adjustments from there.

Anyway, recommendations on sturdy, well-made socks (preferably by a smaller and ethical company) for a sweaty foot homie trying to break in the first pair of docs they’ve ever bought? (Also like in general, help? I’m assuming cotton for a fairly neutral fabric as wool tends to get warm [i think???])

[arre-yaar]

apparently in 2021/22 there was major drama in the historical costuming/costube community and i didn't realize?? the whole cathy hay-bernadette banner fallout?????? i am a horribly nosy person i MUST know exactly what happened IMMEDIATELY

[museeeuuuum]

New video out!

I wanted to get my two cents in on the Peacock Dress discussion (as a museum person of course!).

[godsfavoritsacrificallamb]

So this may be incredibly niche

[allofthehousethatstood]

Okay so Cathy Hay is abandoning the Peacock Dress project. Idk how to feel.

[sapphicseamtress]

THIS.

[anyroads]

I am crazy worn out with intracommunal discourse but I just want to say I regret anything supportive I’ve ever said about Cathy Hay