Serendipity Sees Textile Student Involved in World Topiary Day 2023

A talented young textile design student is channelling inspiration provided by topiary, to create something super-special for both her degree and this year’s World Topiary Day celebrations.

Hex Gregson, from Blackpool and in her final year of a BA Hons in textile design at UCLan in Preston, is helping to support World Topiary Day 2023, whilst completing her final Honours project.  This is based on manor houses and designs used within their gardens and furnishings.

As luck would have it, just as Hex was finalising her plans for the final piece of work for her degree, Levens Hall and Gardens, the founders of World Topiary Day, were looking to create a fashion project linked to their global celebration.  When Hex’s tutor, Phoebe Dean Sayell, heard about this, she put the two in touch.

Hex has now visited the world’s oldest topiary garden, ahead of its reopening on April 2, to take photos and sketch some of the ancient and more quirky modern topiary.  The visit has already got her creative juices flowing and she is excited by the challenge. The plan is to unveil a unique Regency-style dress for World Topiary Day, which will carry the motif design which she develops over the coming weeks.

The dress will be the largest-scale project that Hex has tackled and will draw on all of her skills and her long-held interest in crafting, painting and crocheting.

She is currently putting together a colour palette and researching the topic of topiary.  She will then produce more drawings and paintings, based on what she has seen in the Levens Hall Gardens, and consider ways to overlay and play with motifs.  All paintings will then come together in one design, which software will turn into a repeat design.

From there, samples will be printed for checking, before a full application to fabric occurs.  Once the design has been printed onto the fabric, Hex will make the dress.

Hex says: “When I heard about the opportunity to work with Levens Hall and Gardens on this World Topiary Day project, I knew I had to seize it, as it is a dream for me.  I have visited Levens Hall and Gardens at least ten times in the past and love historic houses in general. Gardens at historic homes also inspire me with their gorgeous colours and displays.  This love of historic houses was the reason for making manor houses the focus of my final degree project, but I never thought that something that I made would ultimately be on show in one.”

Levens Hall and Gardens cannot wait to see what Hex produces and will be putting the dress on display, so visitors can view it.  It hopes this will be possible at its World Topiary Day event, on Sunday May 14, when the eyes of the topiary world will be on Levens Hall and Gardens and its social media feeds.

Levens Hall and Gardens’ owner, Richard Bagot, says “It was just serendipity that Hex was working on a manor houses’ project at exactly the same time that Levens Hall and Gardens was also considering adding a fashion element to World Topiary Day 2023.  Things could not have worked out more fortuitously and we are delighted to be able to not just help Hex with her project but also eventually showcase what she produces.”

Hex, who was formerly a pupil at both McKee College House and Blackpool Sixth Form College, will not be relinquishing her love of historic houses after this.  Her goal is to see every single historic manor house in Britain, in her lifetime.

For more information about World Topiary Day, visit www.levenshall.co.uk               

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Editors notes

Levens Hall & Gardens is a historic house in the South Lakes, Cumbria, close to Kendal and home to the world's oldest topiary gardens, dating from 1694, created by French garden designer, Guillaume Beaumont. The Hall is a stunning Elizabethan house built around a 13th century pele tower and has close links to the Duke of Wellington, as well as various items which once belonged to him and Napoleon Bonaparte. Levens Park is home to the rare Bagot goats gifted to the Bagot family and a place in which to stroll and enjoy nature. Levens Kitchen is the contemporary new cafe, full of delights for cake lovers and foodies alike.