0:00:02 > 0:00:04Clothes are the ultimate form of visual communication.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07By looking at the way people dressed, we can learn not only about
0:00:07 > 0:00:11them as individuals, but about the society they lived in.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I'm Amber Butchart, fashion historian,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16and, in the words of Louis XIV,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I believe that fashion is the mirror of history.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24So, taking historical works of art as our inspiration...
0:00:25 > 0:00:28..traditional tailor Ninya Mikhaila and her team
0:00:28 > 0:00:31will be recreating historical clothing,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33using only authentic methods.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Oh, look at that, it's changing colour in the air.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38And I'll be finding out what they tell us
0:00:38 > 0:00:40about the people who wore them...
0:00:40 > 0:00:43I'm assuming the King wouldn't be dressing himself, though, right?
0:00:43 > 0:00:44..and the times they lived in...
0:00:47 > 0:00:48..and seeing what they're like to wear.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54SHE GASPS
0:01:01 > 0:01:04The picture that launched a thousand theories,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Jan van Eyck's famous double portrait, painted in 1434,
0:01:08 > 0:01:12is considered one of the most complex paintings in Western art.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15I chose this portrait for a number of reasons.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19It's something that has been written about extensively in art history.
0:01:19 > 0:01:24There's a real appetite for new information that can shed light on
0:01:24 > 0:01:26this portrait and the sitters.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Now, historically speaking, it's also a very fascinating period.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34We've seen the emergence of mercantile capitalism
0:01:34 > 0:01:36all around port cities in Europe,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39so we begin to see the effects of trade
0:01:39 > 0:01:42really heavily on the way that people are dressing.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Now, also, the emergence of the merchant.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47This is quite an interesting character.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52They challenged the previous, very rigid structures of society.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54So there's an element of social mobility here.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56You can become very rich through trade,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00you don't necessarily have to have been born into wealth,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03and I'm really interested to see if this element of social mobility is
0:02:03 > 0:02:06reflected in the way that people are dressing.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08So there are a number of things going on with this portrait.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Plus, I really love the colour green.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19This dress is so alien to our modern aesthetic,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I'm really interested to find out from Ninya just how complicated
0:02:22 > 0:02:23it will be to make.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26I suppose the thing that strikes you first
0:02:26 > 0:02:29is just quite how much fabric there is in there.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33And then, as you zoom in, you see these huge hanging sleeves,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36which have the most incredible decoration going on
0:02:36 > 0:02:38at the bottom of them.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42What you're seeing there is literally layers of the fabric,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46which have been cut with a special tool, a pinking tool,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49to give that very fragile, frayed look.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54And so the fabric itself, this gorgeous green fabric, what is this?
0:02:54 > 0:02:56What material is it?
0:02:56 > 0:02:59It was a kind of cloth that was woven very wide,
0:02:59 > 0:03:00so it was called broadcloth.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04This fabric today is usually called doeskin or superfine.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07But what these very small samples don't really show
0:03:07 > 0:03:09is how beautiful that looks in the picture
0:03:09 > 0:03:12and that's because you need a larger piece of the fabric.
0:03:12 > 0:03:13So this is a piece of doeskin.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17So, you can see that once it starts to drape
0:03:17 > 0:03:19and actually get the light on it...
0:03:19 > 0:03:23- Oh, yes.- ..it becomes a much more silky-looking material.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Yes. People don't usually associate wool
0:03:26 > 0:03:28as being a luxury fabric, do they?
0:03:28 > 0:03:30They don't, and at this date
0:03:30 > 0:03:33it really was one of England's finest exports
0:03:33 > 0:03:35and it was bought and used all over Europe.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39But it's not just the wool that we're seeing here, is it?
0:03:39 > 0:03:42There's this fur trim as well.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Now, where does this fur in particular come from?
0:03:45 > 0:03:47We're still thinking about what it might be
0:03:47 > 0:03:51and one possibility is it might be an arctic fox.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55Wow. Where does one get hold of arctic fox?
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Well, for these people, it would have been imported,
0:03:57 > 0:03:58it would be Baltic.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01It's another expensive, luxury item.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05And that's quite helpful in an age before central heating, isn't it?
0:04:05 > 0:04:06It would really keep you warm.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08- Yes.- Wool and fur.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13Now, we're not going to be using any arctic fox, I'm assuming, for this?
0:04:13 > 0:04:15- No.- So what will we be using?
0:04:15 > 0:04:18We'll be looking for a faux fur.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20So, really, throughout here,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24we're seeing quite an opulent display of wealth.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26- Absolutely.- Literally, wearing your wealth on your sleeves.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Yes, and trailing it on the ground!
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Given that this dress seems to be
0:04:34 > 0:04:36such a conspicuous display of wealth,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40I'm fascinated to find out more about the couple in the portrait
0:04:40 > 0:04:42and why they might have chosen these clothes to be painted in.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I'm hoping art historian Jenny Graham
0:04:46 > 0:04:48can shed some light on the subject.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52So this portrait, one of the most contested, most debated
0:04:52 > 0:04:55in the history of Western art, who do we think these people are?
0:04:55 > 0:04:57They're a very wealthy couple.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00We know that they come from the Arnolfini family,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03who traded in luxurious fabrics and exotic items,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06such as the four oranges that you can see.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10This really represents their conspicuous consumption of wealth
0:05:10 > 0:05:12and splendid things.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16This picture has become ensconced within popular culture,
0:05:16 > 0:05:20even Charles Dickens refers to it as "that strange mirror picture".
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Why do you think it's got such an enduring appeal?
0:05:23 > 0:05:27I can't think of another painting in, sort of, Western art history,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31whereby we know so very much about how it's been interpreted
0:05:31 > 0:05:33in different ways over the years.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38It seems to be a painting which triggers all kinds of detective-like
0:05:38 > 0:05:40attempts to solve the enigma, the riddle.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44One of the overriding theories that's now been discredited is that
0:05:44 > 0:05:47she's pregnant. But that's not the case, is it?
0:05:47 > 0:05:51No, the pregnancy theories first crop up in the 19th century.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55But a modern reading of the painting is very much that she is holding up
0:05:55 > 0:05:59the green wool dress - very, very heavy -
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and so the painting now is much more understood, I think,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06as a display of opulence and wealth.
0:06:06 > 0:06:07And it's more than that as well -
0:06:07 > 0:06:11it's very, very interesting in terms of gender politics.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13If she were to let go of the folds of the dress,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15it would pool out all around her
0:06:15 > 0:06:19in a way that would make it almost impossible to walk.
0:06:19 > 0:06:20And we know, for example,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23that there were lots of ways that women at this time
0:06:23 > 0:06:25signalled their social status,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28the fact that they weren't going to be moving around
0:06:28 > 0:06:31or undertaking anything manual.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Everything seems to signal restraint.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35So the dress we're seeing here represents
0:06:35 > 0:06:37a number of different things.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41It can speak to us about the position of women in society,
0:06:41 > 0:06:46it can speak to us about the couple, the status as merchants.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Really, there's an awful lot going on here, isn't there?
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Yes. I mean, interestingly, the green dress is made of wool,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57which was very much associated with trade between Bruges,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00where Jan van Eyck paints the portrait, and Italy.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03We know that the Arnolfini family traded in cloth particularly,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07so there's a sort of familial significance there.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09But green itself was a colour
0:07:09 > 0:07:12associated with high finance and banking.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17When one made a trade in Italy during this period,
0:07:17 > 0:07:19one would place down a green cloth,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21so I think there's a real significance,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25given the trade in which they've made their money.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Just as the painting's complexity
0:07:31 > 0:07:34provides continual debate for art historians,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38so the dress's design is proving a challenge for Ninya.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42I'm trying to work out how the sleeves on this Arnolfini gown
0:07:42 > 0:07:47actually work because they're incredibly complicated.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49- If you go to the bottom of the strips...- Mm-hmm.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53..see, look, isn't that the bottom edge of a strip?
0:07:53 > 0:07:55And that's the bottom edge of a strip,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57so it's like there's layers.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00It's like tiers, isn't it? It's got a sort of fold at the bottom,
0:08:00 > 0:08:01hasn't it?
0:08:01 > 0:08:04That's a point - maybe it's not a raw edge, maybe it's folded.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06I don't think that is a raw edge.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Look, it's not pinked, the edge.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09The edge is...
0:08:10 > 0:08:14..definitely different. That's not a pinked edge, that's a fold.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17How about it's one piece that's really long
0:08:17 > 0:08:23and it's folded up behind itself and pinned, so that it's behaving...
0:08:23 > 0:08:26So the long things would come down to there and then fold back up?
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Yes, and that would give it more body so it would stay...
0:08:30 > 0:08:33It would give it that sort of flat front thing.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I think that's worth a shot.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38We need to do another twirl in something thicker.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Yes, how about if I cut it in wool
0:08:40 > 0:08:43- and then we can cut into it and see how it behaves?- Yes.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Yes, it'll have more body, won't it?
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- All right...- Twice as big.- ..back to the drawing board.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01As we've seen, everything about this portrait screams status.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Just the sheer amount of fabric in the gown could have caused offence
0:09:05 > 0:09:07at a time when strict sumptuary laws
0:09:07 > 0:09:11dictated what different classes of society could wear.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15As merchants, the Arnolfinis may have been rich,
0:09:15 > 0:09:17but they weren't nobility,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20and their ostentatious display of wealth was at odds
0:09:20 > 0:09:23with the rigid hierarchical society of the time.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25In Flanders, where they lived,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28one chronicler even blamed the outbreak of civil war
0:09:28 > 0:09:30just over 50 years earlier
0:09:30 > 0:09:34on the audacity of city dwellers who were better dressed than the nobles.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42And this attitude wasn't confined to Europe.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45In England, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote...
0:09:45 > 0:09:47"May not a man see, as in our days,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49"the sinful, costly array of clothing,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52"and namely, in too much superfluity,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55"that maketh it so dear, to the harm of the people.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58"But there is also the costly furring in their gowns,
0:09:58 > 0:10:03"so much pouncing of chisel to make holes, so much gagging of shears
0:10:03 > 0:10:05"with the superfluity in length of the aforesaid gowns
0:10:05 > 0:10:07"trailing in the dung and in the mire."
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Wool was the primary fabric for clothing in the Middle Ages
0:10:13 > 0:10:16but quality varied, depending on whether it was for a peasant
0:10:16 > 0:10:18or a prince.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22English wools in particular were considered to be very high quality
0:10:22 > 0:10:24and some could even be more expensive than silk.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Our gown would have been made from the highest quality broadcloth,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33nowadays called doeskin.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37To find out more about the processes involved in making this fabric,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41I'm visiting a company that has been making doeskin for over 200 years.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43So you've got a bail this size,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45- that when you unroll it will actually expand...- Oh, my God.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- ..to this.- Wow!
0:10:48 > 0:10:51After arriving in tightly compacted bails,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54the wool is pulled apart and aerated in the blending process.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00This is what it looks like when it comes out of the machine.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04So you can see how different it looks, how aeriated
0:11:04 > 0:11:05and how pulled apart it is.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Next, the aerated wool is sent to carding.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- This machine is going to take all of this...- Yeah.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13..to make it look like this.
0:11:13 > 0:11:14OK. How does it do that?
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Carding is where the wool fibres are broken up and aligned into strands.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22That really does look like clouds or something.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28You can really see it starting to take that shape now.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- This is what you get out at the end. - Wow! Look at that.
0:11:34 > 0:11:35This is what we call slubbing.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40If you pull it apart, you can see that there's no strength in there,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43but if you take the same piece and put all those twists in and turn it
0:11:43 > 0:11:45and turn it and turn it, and then try and pull it apart...
0:11:46 > 0:11:49..you can see that you've got more strength in there.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51So that's the spinning process that we have to go through next
0:11:51 > 0:11:53to make it into the yarn that we can put through.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58The yarn is spun onto spools and then woven into cloth.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11The next process is what makes our wool so special.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14It's washed and beaten, which shrinks the cloth,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17meshing the fibres together, giving it its felt-like texture
0:12:17 > 0:12:21and enabling it to be cut without fraying.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22Then, tentering.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25- So, you know the saying 'tenterhooks'?- Yes.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29'To be kept on tenterhooks.' That's where the saying comes from.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32It would have been carried out into a field, it would have been pinned,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35actually, onto a wooden A-frame, and left out in the sun to dry.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Obviously, it would have taken a very long time and, therefore,
0:12:38 > 0:12:39- being kept on tenterhooks.- Ah!
0:12:39 > 0:12:41But this is the modern-day equivalent.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- So you see these holes?- Yeah.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45- That's where your tenterhooks are.- Ah!
0:12:45 > 0:12:46Wow.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52- So, this is your doeskin. - Oh, my God.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55So this is it? It's so beautiful.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57- I know.- Look at the colour. - It's the sheen.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58It's the face of the fabric
0:12:58 > 0:13:00that gives it that beautiful, beautiful sheen.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02How exciting! I can't wait to see it made up.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12It's just incredible how many different stages this fabric
0:13:12 > 0:13:16has gone through to get it into this beautiful, finished state.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21And it's even more astounding to think that in the 15th century,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25each of these different stages would have actually been done by hand.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28It really goes to show just how expensive
0:13:28 > 0:13:30this fabric would have been.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33It was a real status symbol and a real show of wealth.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Come and see how gorgeous it looks.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Oh, wow!
0:13:47 > 0:13:49It could just make you cry it's so beautiful.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51That is gorgeous.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Look at it. It's like liquid, isn't it?
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Yes, it's just what we wanted.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56It's so perfect.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58And I did have to think quite carefully
0:13:58 > 0:14:02about how to cut such a wide pattern piece from the wool
0:14:02 > 0:14:04and it had to have pieces,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06extra pieces sewn into it.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08So we've got those pieces at the sides here.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- Oh, wow.- And you can see how where they're upside down,
0:14:11 > 0:14:13the light falls completely differently on it.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17- Yes.- And nowadays that's something we wouldn't find acceptable at all.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19- Yes.- But, of course, in the gown,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22you just don't see it with the way it falls.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Yes, it just gets lost in the pleats and the folds.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29The real complex features of this gown are not there yet.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31So, we've got the pinking in the sleeves and also
0:14:31 > 0:14:35there's all this very tight pleating in the front and back,
0:14:35 > 0:14:36I suspect, of the gown.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38I've done quite a lot of samples of the pinking
0:14:38 > 0:14:40because it's quite scary to go,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42you know, you can only cut once.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Yes!
0:14:44 > 0:14:45So I've done one strip here.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48- Oh.- It's quite effective, isn't it?
0:14:48 > 0:14:49It's really effective.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51It's so exciting.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54It is exciting. It's all such experimental archaeology,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56it's brilliant.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58You don't make these things all the time
0:14:58 > 0:15:01and you can't possibly know all of the answers without just doing it,
0:15:01 > 0:15:05which is what we're doing. Would you like to have a go?
0:15:05 > 0:15:06OK, yes.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Yes, I would.
0:15:08 > 0:15:09BANGING
0:15:09 > 0:15:12That sounds like it might not have been hard enough.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14I don't think I feel like it isn't hard enough!
0:15:14 > 0:15:15Oh, there we go.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17- Yay!- That worked! Well done.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19BANGING
0:15:19 > 0:15:21I think what this also really illustrates
0:15:21 > 0:15:22is it's the nature of the cloth
0:15:22 > 0:15:25that allows you to do this kind of technique and it...
0:15:25 > 0:15:28- And it not fray.- ..and it not fray and fall apart.- I was just thinking that.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41- Yay!- Got to the end.- Got to the end!
0:15:41 > 0:15:45- OK.- You start to get a real feel for how delicate
0:15:45 > 0:15:47and yet how complex it looks, doesn't it?
0:15:47 > 0:15:51- Yes.- And then Harriet is working on a very exciting piece.
0:15:51 > 0:15:52This really is so exciting.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55It is exciting. It doesn't look so exciting, a bit of drab linen.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57You know, one of the features of these gowns
0:15:57 > 0:16:00is the way they've got all these pleats in the middle.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04We know from having tried to make these reconstructions in the past
0:16:04 > 0:16:07that you can almost achieve that look
0:16:07 > 0:16:10and then as soon as the person moves, all the pleats move.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13And we've experimented with things like stay tapes
0:16:13 > 0:16:15and sewing the insides
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- and nothing's ever been quite as effective as we want it to be.- Yes.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23Linen, especially a sort of rough, canvassy linen like this,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25has got a lot more control about it.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27- It's very stiff.- Yes. What we're doing
0:16:27 > 0:16:32is just lightly stitching the linen down onto the wool.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37We don't credit tailors this early with such ingenuity
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and it's slightly embarrassing when you discover these technologies
0:16:41 > 0:16:43and you think, "They knew a lot more than we did!"
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- They knew their fabrics really well, didn't they?- Really knew the fabric.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48It's incredible, the number of different techniques
0:16:48 > 0:16:51- that go into it.- We haven't even got to the fur yet.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52There's quite a lot of it.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57- Whoa!- And it's heavy. - Oh, my gosh.- In fact,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59this is something I hadn't really considered,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02is just how heavy this whole thing is going to be.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06- Yes.- Because the fur on its own, if you lift that
0:17:06 > 0:17:08and see how heavy it is, and then we've got the wool on the top.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Oh, God.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14So is this... The full amount of this is going to go into the dress?
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Yes, because we've decided that the whole of those big sleeves
0:17:17 > 0:17:21- must be lined in fur.- Yeah. - And then most of this gown.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Which is probably why she's standing there like this...
0:17:24 > 0:17:26She's just going, "Get it off me!"
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Dyeing was perhaps the most important of the finishing processes
0:17:34 > 0:17:37to give woollen cloth its final appearance.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Blue dye had been common since the 14th century
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and even peasants were likely to own a coloured gown.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Deep shades like those in our portrait, though,
0:17:47 > 0:17:48were still hard to achieve.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54The colours in the Arnolfini picture are really important.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57You've got this real richness to the colours
0:17:57 > 0:17:59and I think that it's all kind of bound up
0:17:59 > 0:18:01with the wealth and the status
0:18:01 > 0:18:03that's really on display in this picture.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07So, I'm really keen to see if we can replicate those colours
0:18:07 > 0:18:12using the techniques that would have been around in the 15th century.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15I think it's going to be a really interesting experiment to find out.
0:18:16 > 0:18:21Debbie Bamford specialises in traditional dyeing techniques.
0:18:21 > 0:18:26So, how common was green as a colour in the 15th century?
0:18:26 > 0:18:27Not as common.
0:18:27 > 0:18:32Green is a much more expensive colour because it's two dyes.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34It's the yellow and the blue.
0:18:34 > 0:18:38The yellow dye is made from a plant called weld, or dyer's rocket,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40which is dried and broken up.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45If you'd like to take a string and tie that tightly round for me.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47- Like this?- Yes.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51- So this goes in here? - That just goes in there.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Yes. Just drop it in.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Anything happening?
0:18:56 > 0:18:58- Oh, yes, yes.- Oh, yeah, look.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Look at that.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Now, the crucial bit. Weld responds very, very well...
0:19:06 > 0:19:08..to the addition of a little glug of this.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10So, hold your nose.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Could you explain, I have a feeling that I might know what this is,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16could you explain to me what this is?
0:19:16 > 0:19:17This is stale urine.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20This is minimum three-week-old urine.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23And I'm using it to modify the colour.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25OK, so you can see this pale yellow, there.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28- Yes.- If I pour some of this in...
0:19:30 > 0:19:33This isn't giving the colour, it is now drawing the colour out of that.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37That makes so much difference.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40So if I put that in there with that now...
0:19:40 > 0:19:43..you can see the yellow much more clearly on the cloth.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Now that's got to be heated up for a while -
0:19:46 > 0:19:49for about a quarter of an hour, 20 minutes.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51And that should then start developing the colour.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54For blue, another plant called woad is used,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57which is dried and made into balls for storage.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00- We have to dissolve it in an alkaline...- Right.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03..so that's where the stale urine came in.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06And so the dye of that is actually
0:20:06 > 0:20:09made up with stale urine and the woad mess.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14That's, kind of, a dyer's best friend, really, stale urine, isn't it?
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Yes. So, we take the yellow piece out now.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21OK. Look at that. That's a really, really lovely colour.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24That's really quite a vivid yellow, isn't it?
0:20:24 > 0:20:26That's lovely, that's one of my favourite colours.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Would you like to put it... slide it in, very carefully?
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Oh, you like the smell of that one, don't you?!
0:20:34 > 0:20:38That really smells unpleasant, doesn't it?
0:20:38 > 0:20:39Yes!
0:20:40 > 0:20:43The more times it's gone back in the dye bath,
0:20:43 > 0:20:45the more expensive the colour gets.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49You want a dark green, you've got to go in two or three times.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52If you want a green like you're wearing
0:20:52 > 0:20:54or like we're talking in this particular painting,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57then, yes, that is, "I've got some status and I've got some wealth."
0:20:57 > 0:20:59That's so interesting,
0:20:59 > 0:21:01I didn't realise that the strength of the colour
0:21:01 > 0:21:03sort of determined the price.
0:21:03 > 0:21:04I mean, it makes perfect sense.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Do you want to take the yellow out of the blue?
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Yes, so this, we're hoping that this is going to be green.
0:21:12 > 0:21:13Yeah, OK.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Oh, my God.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23It's just so horrible.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25It looks gorgeous.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Look at that, it's changing colour in the air.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31It's pretty much getting to the same colour as my top.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I did not realise that it had that kind of reaction to air.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37That's really exciting.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38It is, isn't it?
0:21:38 > 0:21:41That is an amazing colour.
0:21:41 > 0:21:42That's gorgeous, isn't it?
0:21:42 > 0:21:44It's a beautiful green, isn't it?
0:21:44 > 0:21:48And you can see how that is getting you the colour for the Arnolfini.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51- Absolutely.- You can, can't you?- Yes.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54It's so interesting. I think if it wasn't for the smell...
0:21:54 > 0:21:55LAUGHTER
0:21:55 > 0:21:58..I would've been very happy being a medieval dyer!
0:22:08 > 0:22:13While 15th century dyeing techniques still produce incredible results,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15Ninya's finding not all traditional methods
0:22:15 > 0:22:18fit quite so well with modern life.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24What we've now got to do is wait for the hotplate to heat up
0:22:24 > 0:22:26and then the hot plate to heat the iron up.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30In the tailor's shop in Arnolfini's time,
0:22:30 > 0:22:35his apprentice would have set all this up, the coals and the brazier,
0:22:35 > 0:22:36early on in the day
0:22:36 > 0:22:39and one of his tasks would then be to maintain that heat
0:22:39 > 0:22:42and make sure the heat of the iron never interrupted
0:22:42 > 0:22:44so the tailor wasn't inconvenienced.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47So that... You know, we're doing everything by hand,
0:22:47 > 0:22:49as it would have been done in Arnolfini's time,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53and this is really the only real inconvenience of early tools
0:22:53 > 0:22:56because all the other tailoring tools that we use
0:22:56 > 0:22:59really haven't changed very much since the 15th century.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07There we are. I can hand it over to Hannah, who's preparing,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11at the moment, the edging for the sleeve slits.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13- Like so.- Yeah, it's good.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23That is the last slit.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28Ooh!
0:23:28 > 0:23:29Oh, that's really nice.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31- It's gorgeous, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34It's ready to put the furry linings in.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36- Yes, they're not ready yet, sorry.- Oh!
0:23:36 > 0:23:38LAUGHTER
0:23:50 > 0:23:51If we didn't steam it,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54because the nature of the wool is that it's very bouncy,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57which is what's really beautiful about the nature of the fabric,
0:23:57 > 0:24:01means that it wouldn't stay in the place, fanning out like that
0:24:01 > 0:24:04that we want it to. As soon as the wearer moved around,
0:24:04 > 0:24:06the pleats would shift.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Whereas because they're stitched to this canvas
0:24:08 > 0:24:10and then they're steamed into place
0:24:10 > 0:24:13so the fibres have moulded around those pleats,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16that lovely fan shape that Harriet's actually arranged should stay.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20Just sending the steam down into the pleats, aren't we?
0:24:29 > 0:24:31- Nice.- Yeah. Lovely.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Look at that. It's like a peacock's tail, isn't it?
0:24:34 > 0:24:36- Yes, it is.- Really beautiful.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38- It's exactly right.- Brilliant.
0:24:38 > 0:24:39Good.
0:24:47 > 0:24:48OK.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Reach for our hands.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59It's so soft in here.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Oh, my God!
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Oh, look at that!
0:25:08 > 0:25:09The sleeves!
0:25:09 > 0:25:11The sleeves are just amazing.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14When they move, they're even better.
0:25:14 > 0:25:15They are, it's great seeing them moving.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20It looks so much like the painting.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25I can't get over... It's just incredible.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30And it's so heavy, it feels insanely luxurious.
0:25:30 > 0:25:31- Does it?- Really luxurious.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33So, can you actually walk, do you think?
0:25:33 > 0:25:37If you grab a handful of the stuff, so that you can actually not tread... That's it.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Oh, it's very elegant.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45LAUGHTER
0:25:46 > 0:25:47That's really exciting.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51And it gives you that stance that she has in the painting as well,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53- doesn't it?- Which is really interesting.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Maybe part of that stance is to do with the weight of the fabric...
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- Balancing it, yes. - ..that's being held.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01It's, you know, you have to kind of
0:26:01 > 0:26:07lean back to be able to get purchase on the weight of the fabric.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- It's a constant reminder of your wealth...- Yes.- ..isn't it?
0:26:10 > 0:26:13"This so heavy, I've got so much money."
0:26:13 > 0:26:15That's good, that's a good thing!
0:26:18 > 0:26:20The sleeves are just absolutely phenomenal.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22It didn't occur to me that they would...
0:26:24 > 0:26:26- Make you want to do that?- Yes!
0:26:26 > 0:26:28LAUGHTER Basically!
0:26:28 > 0:26:30That they would be so kind of fluid.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32It's that sort of fluidity that the whole thing has.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35But that's what you just can't get from a portrait. I mean, a portrait,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37as a maker, you always want to say, "Could you just lift your arm?
0:26:37 > 0:26:40"Could you just do that?" And then you would see what was going on and
0:26:40 > 0:26:43we can't do that. It really gives it life, doesn't it,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45to have a real, human person in it?
0:26:49 > 0:26:52- And not too hot? - I mean, it's quite hot.
0:26:52 > 0:26:53Definitely.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55The thing is, in this period, in the 15th century,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58it's basically the period that's known as the mini ice age.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02This is a time when the River Thames regularly froze thick enough that
0:27:02 > 0:27:04you could have whole frost fairs on it.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07It makes a lot more sense when you take away central heating
0:27:07 > 0:27:10- and reduce the temperature outside by a few degrees.- Yeah.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12- A lot of heat being generated. - And you are a lady of leisure.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15If you were a labouring woman, you would keep a lot warmer,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17but you're spending a lot of your time just sitting
0:27:17 > 0:27:21or standing, and so you would definitely need these kinds of layers.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23And swishing. I would just spend all of my time swishing!
0:27:23 > 0:27:27If you needed to warm up any more you could just do a bit of swishing and sit down!
0:27:28 > 0:27:29It's just fantastic.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37This experiment has been really fascinating.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40What surprised me about seeing the gown, I think,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42is really how bulky it is,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45how much fabric and how much fur there is.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49It must have cost an absolute fortune.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53This idea of wealth and status is really rammed home.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57She really becomes a symbol of these new types of wealth,
0:27:57 > 0:28:00these new types of people who are buying and selling,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03who are trading at this time.
0:28:03 > 0:28:09It also is incredibly fascinating in terms of the female body ideal as
0:28:09 > 0:28:13well that was prevalent in the 15th century.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16So having an idea and understanding of what this feels like to create
0:28:16 > 0:28:19this is just invaluable.