Stitched by 380 people in 51 countries, The Red Dress heads to Truro

It has been to Paris, Cairo, Sarajevo and Mexico City. In January, it comes to Truro.

Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery has confirmed it will host The Red Dress in January 2027. Described as the world’s largest collaborative embroidery project, the garment carries the stitches of 380 embroiderers from 51 countries, and it has never been shown in Cornwall before.

Tickets went on sale this week, and the museum is expecting them to go quickly.

📷Embroidery group in Aguacatenang, Mexico. Dress worn by Vanessa Aguilar Juarez

Fourteen years on the move

The dress is made from 87 panels of burgundy silk dupion. Between 2009 and 2023 it travelled the world, picking up new embroidery at every stop from hundreds of contributors across five continents.

Along the way it has appeared in Paris, Warsaw, Cairo, Sarajevo, Geneva, Dubai and Mexico City, becoming both a striking visual icon and a global storytelling project.

📷Hand-stitching by Hamida Gabaly, Egypt

Who stitched The Red Dress

The project was conceived and managed by British artist Kirstie Macleod. Its contributors include refugees, survivors of conflict, artisans, students, embroidery professionals and people picking up a needle for the first time.

Many of them were vulnerable, marginalised, or living in poverty. The aim was to create a beautiful, collaborative artwork that could share their stories on the global stage through what the project calls the universal language of stitch.

Of those involved, 141 were commissioned embroiderers who were paid for their work and still receive annual donations from the project. The rest of the embroidery was added by volunteers at drop-in events and exhibitions.

📷Artist Kirstie Macleod shortly after the dress was completed

“Seeing it inhabit the beautiful main gallery space”

Kirstie said: “I’m looking forward to bringing The Red Dress to Cornwall for the first time, and seeing it inhabit the beautiful main gallery space at Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery. I know the team at the museum have some innovative plans for celebrating the project as a vehicle for self-expression and an opportunity for marginalised voices to be heard.”

Museum Co-Director Bryony Robins said: “We are supremely excited to be welcoming The Red Dress to Cornwall and have a diverse programme of events and engagement activities for schools, community groups and local artisans planned around the exhibition.”

📷The main Heart of Cornwall Gallery at Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery, where The Red Dress will be shown

What else is planned in Truro

The dress will stand in the centre of the museum’s main Heart of Cornwall Gallery.

Alongside it, the museum will show Madeleine Walker’s Urban Sirens, a hand-embroidered cape exploring themes of sustainability and Cornish folklore.

A local community artist will also create a participation project in response to the garment and its themes, and there will be a range of events throughout the exhibition.

📷Embroidery detail by AllThreads Collective, Australia

Tickets for The Red Dress

Tickets for The Red Dress cost £10 for adults. That price includes general museum admission and an Annual Pass. Under 18s go free, and the museum recommends booking early.

The exhibition is a sign of where the museum wants to go next. It is a registered charity, and it is planning the final phase of its transformation. Bryony said: “This world class cultural happening in deepest, darkest January affirms the quality of the exhibitions and events we aim to bring to Cornwall to enrich the lives of our communities.

“As we continue to plan for the final phase of the museum’s transformation, we are striving to create a museum for Cornwall [that] looks confidently outwards to the world, as well as proudly celebrating Cornish identity, history, and culture.”

📷The Red Dress worn by Lekazia Turner (embroiderer originally from Jamaica). Photo: Mark Pickthall