Coat of man's civil dress uniform
Fellowship Year: 2022
Project Title: Laurel, Oak, and Peacock: The Politics of Men's Historical Fashion
Laurel, Oak, and Peacock: The Politics of Men's Historical Fashion
The embroidered formal coat from the court of Napoleon in 19th century France, reveals complex ways in which men's fashion has been, and continues to be, used to communicate assimilation and imperialism within Napoleon’s first satellite court, social status, political affiliation and power. It was worn in Milan on 26 May 1805 when Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in a ceremony that demonstrated the political, cultural, and economic unification of Italy and France. Hebdon explores the many artisans, court functionaries, and politicians who designed, bought, and spread Napoleonic imagery through court costumes in Paris and Milan.
About the Fellow:
Brontë Hebdon is an art and fashion historian and the 2022-2023 Veronika Gervers Research Fellow at the Royal Ontario Museum. She is currently completing her doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where she studies the intersections of art, fashion, and textiles under Napoleon. She teaches the history of menswear and fashion history at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY), and she most recently contributed to the Phaidon publication The Men’s Fashion Book, published Fall 2021.
Brontë Hebdon is an art and fashion historian and the 2022-2023 Veronika Gervers Research Fellow at the Royal Ontario Museum. She is currently completing her doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where she studies the intersections of art, fashion, and textiles under Napoleon. She teaches the history of menswear and fashion history at the Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY), and she most recently contributed to the Phaidon publication The Men’s Fashion Book, published Fall 2021.