Hilary has studied early modern (c. 1600-1800) dress and textiles for over twenty years, focussing mainly on the sixteenth-century, including reconstructing clothing and examining many surviving pieces in museum collections. Her specialism in this period is Spanish dress, especially in the reign of Philip/Felipe II.

While at the Museum of London, Hilary digitised the rare and important knitted sixteenth century Tudor cap collection in collaboration with Dr. Jane Malcolm-Davies.

PUBLICATIONS

2018       ‘Holding the Sole: Shoes, Emotions and the Supernatural’ in Sally Holloway, S. Downes and S. Randles (eds), Feeling Things: Objects and Emotions through History (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

2016       ‘Spanish Fashion in Early Modern Europe: The Prevalence and Prestige of Spanish Attire in the Courts of the 16th and 17th Centuries’, book review, Textile History, Vol. 46, No. 2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00404969.2016.1148385

2015 Jane Malcolm-Davies and Hilary Davidson, ‘"He is of no account... if he have not a velvet or taffeta hat": A survey of excavated sixteenth-century knitted caps’, in K. Grömer and F. Pritchard (ed.) Aspects of the Design, Production and Use of Textiles and Clothing from the Bronze Age to the Early Modern Era. NESAT XII. The North European Symposium of Archaeological Textiles, 21st – 24th May 2014 in Hallstatt, Austria. Archaeolingua Main Series 33. Budapest

2012       ‘Renaissance Splendour’ in Fashion: The Ultimate Book of Costume and Style (London: Dorling Kindersley), 43-113

2010       ‘Fashion and the Spanish Court’ in G. Riello & P. McNeil (eds.), The Fashion History Reader: Global Perspectives (Oxford: Routledge), 169-171

‘The King’s Servants’, book review, Textile History, Vol. 41, No. 1, 123-138. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174329510x12670196126845

2008       Conference report ‘Vestir a la Española: Prestigio y Vigencia del Atuendo Español en las Cortes Europeas (Siglos XVI y XVII) [Dressing the Spanish Way: Prestige and Usage of Spanish Attire at the European Courts (16th & 17th Centuries)], Museo Del Traje and Real Monasterio de El Escorial, Madrid, 1-3 October 2007’ in Textile History, Vol. 39, No. 1, 111-113DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/174329508x290505

2007       Hilary Davidson and Anna Hodson, ‘Joining Forces: the intersection of two replica garments’, Textiles And Text: Re-Establishing The Links Between Archival And Object-Based Research, [postprints], M. Hayward and E. Kramer (eds.) (London: Archetype), 204-210.

TALKS & BROADCAST

2014       Jane Malcolm-Davies, Hilary Davidson, Rachel Frost, ‘"He is of no account... if he have not a velvet or taffeta hat": A survey of excavated sixteenth-century knitted caps’, NESAT XII, Hallstatt, Austria, 20-25 May 2014

‘Encountering Medieval and Early Modern Clothing in the Museum’, Medieval and Early Modern Centre, University of Sydney, October 29

‘Tudor Knitting’, Knitters Guild of NSW Meeting, April 30

2012 Expert on Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History For Girls, BBC Four

2009      ‘Tudor Knitting at the Museum of London’, Early Knitting History Group, London College of Fashion, 7 November

2006       Hilary Davidson and Anna Hodson (National Museum of the American Indian, Washington D.C.), ‘Joining Forces: the intersection of two replica objects’, AHRC Research Centre for Textile Conservation Studies 3rd Annual Conference, Textiles And Text: Re-Establishing The Links Between Archival And Object-Based Research, Winchester School of Art, July

RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

THE LADY IN THE FUR WRAP

2019       ‘The Veil of the Lady in the Fur Wrap’, Unwrapping an Icon Final Symposium, Kelvingrove Museum and Gallery, Glasgow, 20-22 February

2018     ‘The Veil of the Lady in the Fur Wrap’, Unwrapping an Icon: Workshop on Dress and Jewellery, V&A Museum, London, 23 February