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ASMR at the museum | Conserving a Eurovision dress | V&A

Published on Tue, Mar 9th 2021 Education Rectangular HD

// Listen with headphones for best experience //

Follow Senior Textile Conservator Susana Fajardo as she works on the dress worn by Sandie Shaw for her performance of ‘Puppet on a String’ at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967.

Sound designer and performance-maker Julie Rose Bower has documented Susana’s steps using ambisonic sound, letting us get closer to the object than ever before.

Watch as the garment is meticulously inspected, and loose beads are secured onto the embellished underdress.

Conservation process:
Inspecting the dress: 01:20
Identifying loose beads: 02:02
Securing loose beads: 02:34
Using insect pins: 04:23
Securing of beads (no talking): 06:58 – 10:13
Photograph of Sandie Shaw wearing the dress at the Eurovision Song Contest, 1967: 10:31

See the dress in Explore the Collections: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1114807/theatre-costume-parker-costumier-ltd/

Find out more in our Theatre and Performance collection: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/theatre-performance