ABSTRACT
The increased academic focus on fashion has principally occurred within Britain, the USA and to a lesser extent France and Australia. Although this study embraces an awareness of the significance and influence of developments within this wider context, it must necessarily follow a narrower remit. Due to the specificity of the historical development of museum practice in Britain and the interlinked importance of the art school system to the role of museums which display dress, the chapter will primarily focus on the British context.
