A Dress Made from Human Hair: A Reflection on Its Display, Interpretation and Ethics

Abstract

In 2012 the National Museums Liverpool (NML) acquired a dress made from human hair extensions for its fashion collection. It was made to be worn at the 2011 Alternative Miss Liverpool pageant, organized by Homotopia, the city’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) arts organization. This paper outlines the dress’s purpose as a performative garment and looks at the reasons for its acquisition by NML. The different approaches taken to its display to date are examined, set against the broader background to the display of hair in museums over the past century. Other examples of human hair garments are also considered in relation to the dress. Some of these were made as fashion garments, some as artworks or, like NML’s dress, for performance. All of them have provoked a variety of reactions in viewers, conditioned by the different contexts in which they have been viewed. The ethical issues related to the sourcing and the display of human hair in museum settings are also considered, together with a proposed approach for the future display of NML’s dress.