The third day of installation and a few cases are complete and some of the walls are hung with posters, designs and drawings. Even unlit The Sleeping Princess looks stunning. The positioning of each mannequin is a slow process as they are slightly twisted so it becomes clearer which work together as a group. Where the trains reach the floor carefully cut Melinex has to be inserted between fabric and floor.
At mid-day designer, Tim Hatley arrived to position the costumes and screens on the central plinth. These will be on open display. We are very aware that costumes look great when not behind glass but so many are too fragile to allow this. London is full of dust it can’t be avoided. However when on open display costumes have to be a metre away from visitors to prevent touching. It is all too easy for visitors to get excited and without thinking reach out.
It is always amazing how when objects are installed the space is transformed – a week ago this was an empty void now, repainted and populated it has quite a different ‘feel’.