I was recently invited to join sociologist Laurie Taylor to speak about a chapter in my recent book, Acts of Undressing. Laurie began with a delightful description of his first visit to a strip club, and we then spent the … Continue reading
The goal of a fashion designer is not just to make an appealing garment, but to make the wearer look appealing too. When making any assessment of the quality of a garment, and its ability to flatter the wearer or … Continue reading
This gallery contains 6 photos.
Originally posted on UH Artists in Conversation:
On Wednesday, the Art & Design gallery was filled with oddly shaped, brightly-coloured beasts. These are the first year Fine Art students, transformed into clothed objects with guidance from visiting artist Nigel Grimmer. Students…
Last week I appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Thinking Allowed, to chat with sociologist Laurie Taylor about the masculinization of dressing up. The segment was followed by a discussion with Christopher Breward, about the history of men’s suits. You can listen … Continue reading
Over the past few weeks, Pinterest has been saturated with fashion illustrations that are incomplete. Blank paper lies where we expect colour or pattern, and contours terminate in empty space. There is a tradition of leaving the human form incomplete in figure drawing, so … Continue reading
What would you wear for your first trip to space? The few space tourists who have journeyed outside of Earth’s atmosphere have had their clothing choices constrained by NASA and other government space agencies. Like the astronauts and cosmonauts who … Continue reading
A current project by fashion researcher Femke de Vries has identified some interesting limitations to dictionary definitions of garments, in her native Dutch language. De Vries’ Dictionary Dressings identifies dictionary definitions of garments that are open to misinterpretation. The Dutch dictionary, Van Dale, … Continue reading
As I have explore previously, empty clothes can act as a stand-in for the absent body. Empty-shoe memorials, for example, can signify the tragic loss of the body that once wore them. It seems that ‘isolated clothes create for us a … Continue reading
Hussein Chalayan’s current venture met its first audiences at Sadlers Wells this week. Gravity Fatigue, a dance production, developed in conjunction with choreographer Damien Jalet, is the culmination of what he has learnt about the costumed body and a close relationship with the Sadler’s … Continue reading
Foley and the cloth pass The role of a foley artist is to generate sound effects for film, television or radio, usually in post-production. Foley typically produces diegetic sound, to enhance or replace sounds that are seen to originate from … Continue reading
Costume & Culture 