London museum hosts deep-dive menswear talk on how Georgian peacocking shaped modern tailoring

London’s Fashion and Textile Museum is hosting a deep dive into the dramatic style shifts that helped shape modern menswear, led by Cosprop costumier Amy Eloise Trend.

Taking place on 12 February 2026 from 18:00 to 19:00, the talk will guide audiences through fifty transformative years of fashion, charting the evolution of men’s clothing from the extravagantly decorated looks of the 1780s through to the cleaner, refined tailoring of the Regency era and the romantic, silhouette-driven styles of the 1830s.

Trend will explore how garments, including coats, waistcoats, breeches, trousers, neckwear, hats and footwear developed during this period, while unpacking the cultural influences driving these changes.

The talk examines how figures like the flamboyant fop eventually gave way to the more restrained and influential dandy, helping lay the foundations for contemporary menswear as we know it today.

The event also connects historical fashion with its modern-day recreation, complementing the museum’s exhibition Costume Couture: Sixty Years of Cosprop. Visitors will be able to trace links between real historical garments and costumes created for productions including Jefferson in Paris, Onegin and various Jane Austen adaptations.

Trend brings more than two decades of industry experience across theatre and film. Originally trained as a theatre designer, she moved into costume design and has worked with major clients including the BBC and Damien Hirst. Among her career highlights is a personal project exploring the suffragette movement and the history of women’s rights, which was featured in Vogue. Over the past ten years, she has specialised in historical menswear as a costumier at Cosprop, contributing to a range of high-profile productions.

Tickets cost £17.50 and include exhibition entry alongside a complimentary drink. The talk takes place at the Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3XF.

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