Category: Events

The Look of Austerity – 2015 Conference on Post-war Dress

Published July 29, 2014 in Conferences Events

A Call for Papers has been issued for a two-day conference hosted by The Museum of London in September next year. ‘The Look of Austerity’ will “explore the effect of post-war austerity on the appearance of people and cities… ‘The Look of Austerity aims to re-examine the post-war period, looking at the changing meaning and the face of austerity and exploring the real implications of austerity policies and culture on sartorial aesthetics. Focusing on the immediate post-war period, specifically the years 1945-1951, we invite papers that examine the popular experience of obtaining and wearing clothes throughout the western world during these turbulent and changing times, exploring the often overlooked areas of ready-to-wear innovation, international dialogues, and approaches that look beyond some of the popular myths of post-war fashion.”

The conference will take place at the Museum of London, on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September 2015. Presentations are invited of 20 to 25 minutes’ duration – material culture and interdisciplinary contributions are particularly encouraged. Topics for discussion may include:

  • fashion consumption and austerity, particularly popular and everyday experiences of obtaining and wearing clothes
  • the production and distribution of ready-to-wear
  • the role of couture after the war
  • dialogues across Western nations and fashion capitals, particularly Paris, New York, Berlin and Rome
  • visual and written representations of fashion in newspapers, magazines, advertisements, cinema and amateur film
  • biographic approaches, for example diaries, novels and short stories
  • the designer in a culture of austerity
  • the connection between austerity and glamour
  • re-emergence of the austerity look in later periods, for example in the 1970s/1990s
  • the legacy of the look of austerity

The effects of war did not end immediately in 1945. In Britain clothes rationing lasted until 1949 while rationing only ended altogether in 1954. The ‘Make Do And Mend’ mentality of the war years continued long after, as Europe began the slow process of rebuilding. Knitting played vital part in the budgets of many households and really should be represented appropriately by a paper at this conference. So put on your [knitted] thinking caps!

The deadline for submission of proposals is Monday 27 October 2014. Further information is on the Museum of London website, where you can also download a copy of the Call For Papers.

Early Seventeenth Century Knitting from Copenhagen

Published June 30, 2014 in Events Reports

“The materiality of textiles and clothing – under the surface” was a recent two-day workshop organised as part of the research programme, Costume, Clothing, Consumption and Culture. CCCC is investigating early modern textiles and dress and is run jointly between The Centre for Textile Research and the National Museum of Denmark.

Delegates from universities in Denmark, Finland, India, Great Britain and Italy, curators, conservators, students and a multi-disciplinary network of scholars gathered to visit the National Museum of Denmark and the Museum of Copenhagen, taking in the Renaissance exhibition, attending talks, discussions and a shoemaking demo. They also viewed early textiles from the reserve collections and excavated finds in the process of being conserved.

Early seventeenth century knitted hats and gloves on display in the National Museum in Copenhagen. Photo by Paula Hohti

Paula Hohti has posted a well-illustrated report, including large pictures of early knitted hats, stockings, gloves and mittens not commonly seen outside Denmark.