Locating 'the Absent Shadow': Exploring Connections and Encounters in British Menswear

这个网络是由威斯敏斯特男装档案馆（WMA）的关注所构成的，这是威斯敏斯特大学拥有的一个独特的教学收藏。从1780年到现在，该系列拥有2000多件男装服装，主要集中在20世纪40年代后的英国男装-在英国生产，设计，穿着或零售的服装。它包括设计师时装、街头服装、日常服装、运动服、工作服和制服。它每年接待800多名游客，并被学生、学者和工业设计师用于研究目的。它以意大利服装的历史为蓝本，尤其是设计师马西莫·奥斯特（Massimo Osti）创立的男装品牌C.P. Company。Osti的系列不分等级，将军用、实用、工业和时尚服装放在一起。WMA反映了这种方法，直接旨在克服大多数时装教学和博物馆收藏中固有的性别和高级时装偏见。相对于女装，男装在时尚研究和展览中仍未得到充分的探索，尽管越来越多的男装展览表明人们对这一领域的兴趣日益浓厚，包括reign Men（洛杉矶县博物馆，2016年）、Invisible Men（威斯敏斯特大学，2019年）和即将到来的Dandy Style（曼彻斯特艺术画廊，2022年）。然而，关于英国男装的学术研究往往侧重于剪裁和传统；华丽华丽的风格；和伦敦。这个网络试图通过询问四个主要城市居民的时尚实践来质疑这些关注。通过一系列研讨会，该网络将汇集学者、策展人、设计师、零售商和时尚行业专业人士，探讨本地（利物浦和曼彻斯特）、国内（伦敦）和国际（米兰）男装行业和社区之间的联系、关系和相遇。这将允许制定一个扩展到其他城市的框架。工作室1伦敦-存档，收集，和策展英国男装威斯敏斯特男装档案之旅。在研讨会之前，每位参与者都被邀请通过其在线目录与WMA联系，选择一件与他们的研究或实践相关的服装。这些将作为讨论档案收藏在研究和创造英国男装中的地位的起点。工作坊2米兰-男装工业化的地点，参观C.P.公司的设计工作室和档案，研究如何使用它来记录公司的物质文化，并为新男装成果的概念提供研究方法的基础。专业男装零售商在传播新男装方面发挥着重要作用，通过策划与当地特定受众相关的服装，充当行业和消费者之间的中介。车间4曼彻斯特-亚文化/大众文化：男装和青年风格。最后的工作坊将聚焦于男装、休闲和青年文化，采用跨代参与式研究，邀请公众分享他们对青年风格的看法。该网络将在方法上进行创新，使合作伙伴多样化，并通过让非学术参与者和从业者（包括时尚行业以外的人）参与进来，利用该网络的社交媒体平台进行传播、反馈和对话，与以前被忽视的男装社区和创作者建立联系。来自音乐、青年研究、时装设计、时尚传播和历史等多个学科的学者将以他们独特的视角来揭示网络的问题，这一多学科方法加强了该项目。

This network is framed by the concerns of the Westminster Menswear Archive (WMA), a unique teaching collection held by the University of Westminster. The collection holds over 2000 menswear garments from 1780 to the present day, primarily focused on post-1940s British men's dress - clothing produced, designed, worn, or retailed in Britain. It includes designer fashion, streetwear, everyday dress, sportswear, workwear, and uniforms. It receives over 800 visitors each year and is utilised for research purposes by students, scholars, and designers in industry. It is modelled on Italian garment archives, particularly the menswear label C.P. Company, founded by designer Massimo Osti. Osti's collection was non-hierarchal, housing military, utilitarian, industrial, and fashion garments together. The WMA mirrors this approach, directly aiming to overcome the gender and high-fashion biases inherent in most teaching and museum collections of fashion. Menswear, relative to womenswear, is still underexplored in fashion research and exhibitions, despite growing interest in the field exemplified by an increasing number of menswear exhibitions, including Reigning Men (Los Angeles County Museum, 2016), Invisible Men (University of Westminster, 2019) and the forthcoming Dandy Style (Manchester Art Gallery, 2022). However, scholarship on British menswear has tended to focus on tailoring and tradition; spectacular and dandy style; and London. This network seeks to question these preoccupations by interrogating the fashion practices of the inhabitants of four key cities. Through a series of workshops, the network will bring together academics, curators, designers, retailers, and fashion industry professionals to investigate the links, relationships, and encounters between the local (Liverpool and Manchester), national (London), and international (Milan) menswear industries and communities. These will allow for the development of a framework for expanding to other cities. Workshop 1 London - Archiving, collecting, and curating British menswear Tour of the Westminster Menswear Archive. Before the workshop, each participant is invited to engage with the WMA through its online catalogue to select one garment relevant to their research or practice. These will be used as the starting point for discussion of the place of archival collections in researching and creating British menswear. Workshop 2 Milan - The location of the industrialisation of menswear Tour of the C.P. Company design studio and archive to examine how it is used to document the company's material culture and the foundation for a research methodology to inform concepts for new menswear outcomes. Workshop 3 Liverpool - The significance of a port city as a site of cultural exchangeSpecialist menswear retailers play an essential role in disseminating new menswear, acting as intermediaries between industry and consumers by curating garments relevant to specific local audiences.Workshop 4 Manchester - Subculture / Mass Culture: Menswear and Youth Style. The final workshop will focus on menswear, leisure, and youth cultures, using cross-generational participatory research that invites members of the public to share their narratives of youth style. The network will innovate in its approach, diversify its collaborative partners, and engage with previously overlooked menswear communities and creators by involving non-academic participants and practitioners, including those outside the fashion industry, and utilising the network's social media platforms for dissemination, feedback, and dialogue. A multidisciplinary approach strengthens the project, with academics from several disciplines such as music, youth studies, fashion design, fashion communication, and history bringing their unique perspectives to light on the network's questions.