Travels with Textiles March 2025

In this episode of Friends of Haptic & Hue Bill and Jo travel to the unique Westminster Menswear's Archive in London to talk to Professor Andrew Groves about how men dress and what their clothes tell us about who they are and what they want from their garments.   Professor Groves says men's clothing has been overlooked compared to women's wear and that it hasn't been thought or written about in the same way. He believes women's fashion tends to be about spectacle, but men's clothing is much more about functionality and uniform, and he thinks that most men still prefer their clothing to be highly gendered.    The Archive spans 250 years and has over 3,000 objects, which range from the humblest workwear to beautifully made formal suits. It includes sportswear, military uniforms, divers' suits, workers' jackets from the railways, police and army protective gear, silk brocade waistcoats, string vests, blazers, and even prison uniforms. It's an incredible collection that gives us a lot of information about how men see clothing.