MUSEUMS are traditionally seen as places of learning rather than high fashion, but next month the Oxford University Museum of Natural History is getting a makeover.

It will host three of Oxford Fashion Week’s highly-anticipated autumn/winter shows: the Independent Collections and Couture shows on Friday, November 7, and the flagship Birds of Paradise show on Saturday, November 8.

The Birds of Paradise show will bring together work from designers all inspired by exotic birds.

The museum’s director Prof Paul Smith said: “The Museum of Natural History is very enthusiastic about welcoming Oxford Fashion Week. The Birds of Paradise theme offers a novel way of looking at displays in natural history and will attract new audiences to the museum.”

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The idea for the show came from biology student Hannah Zainuddin – the show’s creative director – who was inspired by the museum’s stuffed birds.

Rachel Parle, interpretation and education officer at the museum, said: “We have a number of birds of paradise in our collections.

“They are beautiful and inspiring creatures, they’re flamboyant and the perfect inspiration for fashion.”

She explained: “On the Friday we’re going to host on our upper gallery, which is a really lovely, long, thin space. It’s perfect for a runway.

“It will be quite a nice taster for the big show on the Saturday, which will be in the big space on the ground floor. It’s a very dramatic space.

“It’s an opportunity for us to do something slightly different and get the museum all lit up at night, looking fantastic.

“It also means we can engage with different audiences.

“People who come to this may not always use the museum and they can see this as a place that interests them.

“We’re always really keen to do new and innovative things with partners across the city.”

As well as becoming the fashion centre of the city, the museum is using the Birds of Paradise show to educate visitors.

On the day of the show, the museum’s collections manager Malgosia Nowak-Kemp will give a talk on birds of paradise.


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