True Colours: The effects of detergent use on the historic interpretation, understanding and conservation of museum textiles

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The V&A museum houses world-renowned collections of fashion and textiles, manyof which are masked by soiling and require cleaning prior to display to enable true clarity of their study and enjoyment by the public. The removal of soiling fromthe many textiles in museum collections often employs 'wet cleaning' techniques using detergents (or surfactants), the long-term effect of which is presently unknown and presents an ethical dilemma for curators as to when washing is appropriate and safe. Consequently this project between the V&A and the Open University will evelop a better understanding of the effects of cleaning and improved cleaning process for museum textiles that will be practical, safer and inexpensive, enabling adoption by the textile conservation profession.This research project will be linked to the redisplay of the costume gallery at the V&A in 2023. The costume gallery is one of the most popular in the museum reliant on its presentation to engage and correctly inform the viewer. This project will naturally consider the complexity of costume, both its structure and combination of materials used to create a single garment. Additionally this project will survey both curators and conservators at the V&A and other museums that hold costume collections to identify their objectives for long-term care, interpretation and display in connection with, and balanced against, effective cleaning. This will also be linked to practises reported in the existing academic literature.Washing is one of the most effective ways of cleaning textile, the methods developed by conservators are particular to the profession and must avoid any damage such as loss of dyes or shrinkage. It is important that the project explores both the ethics and practises of conservation washing, as a soiled and creased costume or textile may not reflect the aspirations of either its creator or past owner. Working closely with the V&A, the initial stages of research would focus on current wet cleaning protocols (i.e. full immersive washing and surface cleaning techniques). It is crucial to learn from the V&A's prior knowledge and experience with conserving textiles both successfully and any unexpected challenges, to more deeply understand the issues and beneficially inform future conservation work within the conservation industry.To better inform the decisions made by curators concerning costume, conservators need to more fully understand the long-term consequence of wet cleaning on museum textiles. To facilitate this, the effects of detergents on natural fibre modelswill be analysed; where residues are found their impacts on the aging of fibres will be quantified. This subject has not been researched in any detail before and the outcome of this project will consequently influence conservation treatments globally.Although in the field of conservation the ethics of cleaning has previously been debated, the long-term effects of wet cleaning remain relatively under researched and reported. Very little analytical research has been performed in this area to date, e.g. analysis of tapestry fibres showed that wet cleaning deposited certain surfactants on the surface of the wool fibre.Furthermore, aged fibres displayed greater levels of these residues, although these particular surfactants are not used by the V&A. Another study showed fine dust particles on a fragile tapestry hindered the cleaning process, discoloured dyesand sped up the degradation of the cellulose parts.This project will address the important issue of the effect of cleaning on the structure of textiles and will improve washing methodologies of the V&A textile conservation studio. This in turn will impact globally on the conservation of textiles, improving treatments, and enhancing the long-term care of the collections worldwide. This PhD project will provide the student with excellent interdisciplinary training for a career in either the conservation industry or academia.