Architects appointed for Fashion Museum Bath

Award-winning studio 6a Architects have been selected to realise the vision to create an eminent new Fashion Museum in the centre of Bath.

Fashion Museum Bath will be the only museum in the UK dedicated to the history and heritage of British fashion. It will showcase more of the internationally renowned Bath Fashion Museum Collection, appeal to tourists and locals alike and deliver significant cultural, educational, economic, and regenerative impact.

The landmark project will see architects 6a preserve and transform Bath’s Grade II listed Old Post Office into a state-of-the-art 21st-century cultural institution housing museum galleries and learning spaces, and serving as a hub for local, national, and international communities.

Bath & North East Somerset Council chose 6a as the architects to take the project forward following an open competition that attracted worldwide interest.  

Sophie McKinlay, Project Lead, for Fashion Museum Bath, said: "6a has an exceptional creative vision matched with an outstanding track record for reimagining historic cultural spaces. I have no doubt 6a will be the perfect partners to deliver something very special for the Fashion Museum.  

We’re excited to work together on our vision to create spaces which inspire our visitors, celebrate our extraordinary collection of historic dress, and welcome the community to engage with the transformative power of fashion. 

Stephanie Macdonald and Tom Emerson co-founded 6a Architects in 2001, and the London based studio has since won an international reputation for its award-winning projects with a specialism for sensitively transforming historic spaces. Previous projects include new gallery spaces at Tate Liverpool, MK Gallery, the South London Gallery, and Centre for Arts, Research and Alliances, New York.

Image: The Old Post Office building in central Bath

Tom Emerson, 6a architects, said: "We are delighted to be selected to design the Fashion Museum Bath. Fashion, re-use, museums, and galleries have been central to our practice, and we look forward to bringing these threads together in this ambitious project. The Fashion Museum’s collection, just like the architecture of Bath, is an incredible source of inspiration and we are excited to work with the museum team to bring it to the broadest of audiences."

The new museum is a key part of Bath and North East Somerset Council’s plan to provide a further boost to the visitor economy in central Bath. As an anchor element of the Milsom Quarter Masterplan, it will help ‘reimagine the high street’ in the city centre and encourage commercial tenants and residents to move to and use the Milsom Quarter.

Councillor Paul Roper, Cabinet Member for Economic & Cultural Sustainable Development, said: "The creation of our new Fashion Museum is of national and international significance. This is reflected in the outstanding architectural practices who tendered for this project. This is going to be a new, world class institution in a UNESCO World Heritage City and there is huge excitement that, at long last, we will be able to display our unique and outstanding fashion collection in a location and setting that it fully deserves.

The new museum is a key part of our plan to develop a creative centre in central Bath and provide a further boost to the visitor economy. As an anchor element of the Milsom Quarter Masterplan, the museum will enhance footfall and dwell time in the area and increase the desirability of the city centre. Engaging 6a is a significant next step in realising the Fashion Museum and I look forward to seeing 6a’s vision.

The appointment of architects 6a marks the start of the next chapter in the Fashion Museum’s story, as design work begins with an anticipated reopening in 2030.

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