Costume Collection Education Programs

Education program VIC

The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) has an incredible costume collection that spans many years of wear. These garments provide extremely valuable insight into past fashion trends, manufacturing techniques, society and sustainability.  

“The Trust is custodian of a nationally significant collection of fashion and dress. It offers opportunities for research and is a useful educative tool – providing insight into consumption, emigration, social change and the aesthetic and technical value of clothing production distribution and design.” – Elizabeth Anya-Petrivna, Senior Curator and Historian of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria). 

Fashion Sleuths and Dress Detectives

Levels 7-VCE

Join one of our trained educators at the beautiful Labassa Mansion to discover hidden secrets in historical garments dating as far back as the 1830s, giving students a glimpse into the lives of women and girls, through styles, restrictions, silhouettes, manufacturing methods and societal pressures. Students will don a pair of gloves and be given the opportunity to analyse these garments up close!

Curriculum links for Levels 7 & 8
SubjectStrandSub-strandContent descriptionsStudents will…
Design and TechnologiesTechnologies and Society the impacts of innovation and the development of technologies on designed solutions for ethical considerations including sustainable livingAnalyse the impact of changing technologies for the creation of garments from 1800-present and how these changes affected society and the environment.
VC2TDE8S02
 Creating Designed SolutionsInvestigating and Definingexplain needs or opportunities for designing, and investigate and select tools, materials, processes and components to create designed solutionsIn the teacher resource pack (provided upon confirmation of booking), design a garment using inspiration from historical technologies, styles and components.
VC2TDE8D01
HistoryHistorical Concepts and SkillChronologysequence significant events, individuals, ideas and developments chronologically to explain continuity and change and causes and consequencesExplore continuity and change in styles and trends through time.
VC2HH8S02
  Using historical sourcesexplain the perspectives, beliefs, values and attitudes of people and groups based on evidence from a range of sourcesExplore how a garment can represent the societal restrictions of a certain time period based on silhouette and materials used.
VC2HH8S05
  Continuity and Changeexplain continuity and changeExplore how garments changed over time, whereas some aspects remained the same.
VC2HH8S07
Curriculum links for Levels 9 & 10
SubjectStrandSub-strandContent descriptionsStudents will…
Design and TechnologiesTechnologies and Society the impacts of innovation, enterprise and emerging technologies on designed solutions for ethical considerations including sustainable livingAnalyse the impact of changing technologies for the creation of garments from 1800-present and how these changes affected society and the environment.
VC2TDE10S02
 Creating Designed SolutionsInvestigating and Defininganalyse needs or opportunities for designing; develop design briefs; and investigate, analyse and select materials, systems, components and tools to create designed solutionsIn the teacher resource pack (provided upon confirmation of booking), design a garment using inspiration from historical technologies, styles and components.
VC2TDE10D01
HistoryHistorical Concepts and SkillsChronologysequence significant events, individuals, ideas, movements and developments chronologically to analyse continuity and change, and causes and consequencesExplore continuity and change in styles and trends through time.
VC2HH10S02
  Using historical sourcesanalyse the perspectives, beliefs, values and attitudes of people and groups based on evidence from a range of sourcesExplore how a garment can represent the societal restrictions of a certain time period based on silhouette and materials used.
VC2HH10S05
  Continuity and Changeanalyse continuity and changeExplore continuity and change in styles and trends through time.
VC2HH10S07
Curriculum links for VCE
Unit and area of studyKey knowledge or skillsStudents will...
Unit 1: Sustainable Product Redevelopment AOS1The environmental, economic and social impacts associated with the origin/source, manufacture, use and disposal of products.Understand how garments were manufactured both pre- and post- industrialisation and how this process impacted the landscape, community and climate.
 Approaches used by designers to incorporate sustainability practices in product design.Discover the sustainable methods of women in the 19th and early 20th centuries to mend, redesign and re-wear garments for many years as fashions changed rather than buying new.
 Creative and critical design thinking techniques.Analyse garments from the past using a criteria and critical thinking skills.
 Analyse the sustainability of an existing product.Analyse how the garments shown rank on sustainability when thinking about length of use, method of manufacture, materials used and environmental impact.

Further Program Details

Available:Monday-Friday during school term time.
Duration:1.5 hours
Numbers:15-30 students
Teacher/carer:student ratio:1:12
ResourcesTeachers will receive a detailed resource pack that includes suggested pre- and post-incursion activities upon booking.
Cost:$12 per student
Accessibility:Labassa has several stairs up to the front door. Please advise our bookings team if you require accessible entrance through a side door.
Bookings:To book in:
Online booking form

For enquiries:
Email bookings@nattust.com.au
Phone: (03)9656 9889
Costume Collection Education Programs

The Fashion Trunk Show (Incursion)

Levels 7-VCE

Savour a glimpse into women’s lives through time with the Fashion Trunk Show. The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) is the custodian of a significant and vast collection of fashion dress dating from the 1830s through to the 1970s. One of our trained educators will bring a curated selection of these garments into your classroom for a hands-on analysis, where students discover the impact of changing technologies and fashions in garment creation and explore what those changes meant in terms of sustainability and society.

Curriculum links for Levels 7 & 8
SubjectStrandSub-strandContent descriptionsStudents will…
Design and TechnologiesTechnologies and Society the impacts of innovation and the development of technologies on designed solutions for ethical considerations including sustainable livingAnalyse the impact of changing technologies for the creation of garments from 1800-present and how these changes affected society and the environment.
VC2TDE8S02
 Creating Designed SolutionsInvestigating and Definingexplain needs or opportunities for designing, and investigate and select tools, materials, processes and components to create designed solutionsIn the teacher resource pack (provided upon confirmation of booking), design a garment using inspiration from historical technologies, styles and components.
VC2TDE8D01
HistoryHistorical Concepts and SkillChronologysequence significant events, individuals, ideas and developments chronologically to explain continuity and change and causes and consequencesExplore continuity and change in styles and trends through time.
VC2HH8S02
  Using historical sourcesexplain the perspectives, beliefs, values and attitudes of people and groups based on evidence from a range of sourcesExplore how a garment can represent the societal restrictions of a certain time period based on silhouette and materials used.
VC2HH8S05
  Continuity and Changeexplain continuity and changeExplore how garments changed over time, whereas some aspects remained the same.
VC2HH8S07
Curriculum links for Levels 9 & 10
SubjectStrandSub-strandContent descriptionsStudents will…
Design and TechnologiesTechnologies and Society the impacts of innovation, enterprise and emerging technologies on designed solutions for ethical considerations including sustainable livingAnalyse the impact of changing technologies for the creation of garments from 1800-present and how these changes affected society and the environment.
VC2TDE10S02
 Creating Designed SolutionsInvestigating and Defininganalyse needs or opportunities for designing; develop design briefs; and investigate, analyse and select materials, systems, components and tools to create designed solutionsIn the teacher resource pack (provided upon confirmation of booking), design a garment using inspiration from historical technologies, styles and components.
VC2TDE10D01
HistoryHistorical Concepts and SkillsChronologysequence significant events, individuals, ideas, movements and developments chronologically to analyse continuity and change, and causes and consequencesExplore continuity and change in styles and trends through time.
VC2HH10S02
  Using historical sourcesanalyse the perspectives, beliefs, values and attitudes of people and groups based on evidence from a range of sourcesExplore how a garment can represent the societal restrictions of a certain time period based on silhouette and materials used.
VC2HH10S05
  Continuity and Changeanalyse continuity and changeExplore continuity and change in styles and trends through time.
VC2HH10S07
Curriculum links for VCE
Unit and area of studyKey knowledge or skillsStudents will...
Unit 1: Sustainable Product Redevelopment AOS1The environmental, economic and social impacts associated with the origin/source, manufacture, use and disposal of products.Understand how garments were manufactured both pre- and post- industrialisation and how this process impacted the landscape, community and climate.
 Approaches used by designers to incorporate sustainability practices in product design.Discover the sustainable methods of women in the 19th and early 20th centuries to mend, redesign and re-wear garments for many years as fashions changed rather than buying new.
 Creative and critical design thinking techniques.Analyse garments from the past using a criteria and critical thinking skills.
 Analyse the sustainability of an existing product.Analyse how the garments shown rank on sustainability when thinking about length of use, method of manufacture, materials used and environmental impact.

Further Program Details

AvailableMonday-Friday during school term time.
Duration1.5 hours.
Numbers15-30 students per session. 3 sessions per day.
ResourcesTeachers will receive a detailed resource pack that includes suggested pre- and post-incursion activities upon booking.
Cost $12 per student
SafetyClick here to access the incursion Task Risk Assessment document.
BookingsTo book in:
Online booking form

For enquiries:
Email bookings@nattust.com.au
Phone: (03)9656 9889
Costume Collection Education Programs

Plan your visit

Costume Collection Education Programs

Address:

2 Manor Grove
Caulfield North 3161 VIC

Phone:
9656 9800
Email:
bookings@nattrust.com.au
What we offer:

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Simply fill in our online booking form with your details to make a booking request.

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The National Trust of Victoria has created an extremely exciting experience that will hopefully fill you, and your students, with intrigue and delight. Transporting your imagination to another time and place. My students were engaged with the ability to investigate garments with their hands, playing detective to who would have worn the garment?, where it might possibly have been worn? and why? The National Trust were flexible, offering both incursion experiences, as well as excursion experiences to their heritage listed building - Labassa Mansion. This is an experience I will share with my students annually.

- Amy Dallas, Killester College.

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