ABSTRACT
Fashion and clothing are part of a universal experience, the textile and clothing industries occupying a powerful global position both economically and in socio-cultural terms. Fashion is however a field which is under-researched and under-represented academically. Fashion is a fast-moving industry often condemned as frivolous and unimportant, but represents one of the major economic players on the global stage. The ‘Interrogating Fashion’ research cluster therefore took a comprehensive view of fashion in its broadest sense and established a much-needed forum for discussion of issues surrounding fashion, considering new paradigms for its practice, processes and presentation. Three overarching and interrelated themes were established for the cluster framework: digital fashion: from craft to mass customisation, the fashion paradox: transience and sustainability, and fashion in context: presentation and display, audience and engagement. Fashion, textiles and costume attract some of the largest audiences in museum and gallery exhibitions.
