A practice-based autobiographical investigation of the fashion material culture of three generations of Caribbean female couturiers from the 1930s to

我的童年记忆充满了灿烂的不同景象。我母亲设计的裙子装饰着她的工作空间，每一件都装饰着欧根纱、蕾丝、蝴蝶结、褶边和配套的配饰。虽然这种服装风格是上世纪六七十年代许多英裔加勒比家庭的标准正装，但在我接受英国时装教育的过程中，我几乎没有看到加勒比裁缝的代表。这项以实践为基础的研究，位于文化资本和英国加勒比服装历史的交叉点，是对特立尼达和多巴哥，巴巴多斯和战后英国三代加勒比裁缝的自传研究。我的目的是激发关于加勒比裁缝的西方叙事的讨论；揭示英国和加勒比时尚物质文化之间的关系；通过我的实践和研究，呈现加勒比时装设计师的贡献，使时装的历史叙述非殖民化。我的研究建立在Ehrman和de la Haye（2015）的基础上，他们确定了被排除在伦敦时尚场景叙事之外的英国裁缝，以及Tulloch（2021）的展览将她的黑人英国时尚研究置于背景下。我对英国黑人风格的探索，以及它是如何受到从加勒比海到英国的移民的影响，反映了我对塔洛克研究的接近。我的研究始于刘易舍姆（Lewisham）的一个加勒比时装设计师（A Caribbean Couturier）项目，这个项目通过一个精心策划的装置来庆祝我母亲和她的同胞对时尚的贡献，其中融入了个人反思、小组讨论和时装秀。在这个项目的基础上，我将进行基于对象的研究，同时进行自传式反思实践，以确定国内航天企业与伦敦时装行业之间的关系。最后，我将撰写一篇书面论文，其中包括第一次历史研究，考察加勒比裁缝在加勒比和伦敦的作用，并对他们独特的设计、制作和工作实践进行批判性分析，并通过加勒比历史定制服装的现场展览提供支持

My childhood memories are showered with visions of effulgent difference. Dresses created by my mother festooned her workspace, each bedecked in organza, lace, bows, frills and matching accessories. Although this dress-style was standard formal-wear for many British-Caribbean families during the '60s to '70s, I saw little representation of Caribbean dressmakers throughout my British fashion education.This practice-based research, situated at the intersection of cultural capital and British Caribbean dress history, is an autobiographical study of three generations of Caribbean dressmakers in Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, and post-war Britain. My aims are to instigate discourse on western narratives of Caribbean dressmakers; unpack relationships between British and Caribbean fashion material culture; and decolonise historical accounts of couture fashion by rendering the contribution of Caribbean couturiers visible through my practice and research. My research builds on Ehrman and de la Haye (2015) who identify British dressmakers excluded from London fashion scene narratives and Tulloch (2021) whose exhibitions contextualise her black British fashion research. My proximity to Tulloch's research is reflected in my exploration of black British style and how it has been impacted by migration from the Caribbean to Britain.My research began with A Caribbean Couturier in Lewisham, a project that celebrated the fashion contributions of my mother and her compatriots through a curated installation, infused with personal reflections, a panel discussion and a fashion show. Drawing on this project, I will conduct object-based research alongside autobiographical reflective practice to identify the relationship between domestic space enterprise and London's couture industry. Finally, I will produce a written thesis comprising the first historical study examining the role of Caribbean dressmakers in the Caribbean and London and a critical analysis of their distinctive designs, making and working practices, underpinned by a viva exhibition of historical Caribbean made-to-measure garments