Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive
Groves Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2019. Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive.
Groves Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2019. Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive.
| Title | Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive |
|---|---|
| Type | Exhibition catalogue |
| Authors | Groves Andrew |
| Sprecher, D. | |
| Abstract | Fashion today is doing something that has never been done before: it is going for information and inspiration to the street and to the sports field. Perhaps it is the workman in his boiler suit, the garage mechanic, the welder on the building site, or the footballer who can provide the ‘look’ for our present-day needs. Invisible Men displays over 180 garments exclusively drawn from the Westminster Menswear Archive. It covers the last 120 years of mostly British menswear organised into twelve thematic sections. It explores the design language of menswear by presenting designer garments alongside military, functional and utilitarian outfits. The replication of archetypal functional garments intended for specific industrial, technical or military use dominates menswear design. The exhibition illustrates how designers have disrupted these conventions through minimal, yet significant modifications to produce outcomes that both replicate and subvert their source material. The endless replication, appropriation and interpretation has meant that the original meaning and function has faded through each reiteration. Through this approach, the language of menswear has developed an almost fetishistic appreciation of the working man in all his heroic iterations. Designs constantly reference the clothing of seafarers, soldiers, athletes, firefighters, road workers, and explorers. This design strategy has largely allowed men and what they wear to avoid scrutiny. These garments have remained largely invisible within fashion exhibitions in favour of presenting menswear primarily as the story of the dandy or the peacock male. This exhibition aims to shine a light on these invisible men. |
| Keywords | menswear |
| costume | |
| Year | 2019 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | Oct 2019 |
| Edition | First |
| ISBN | 9781527249790 |
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Various fanzines dedicated to the casual subculture
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Tailored by Umbro: Football, fashion and the construction and reconstruction of Englishness through cut, fit, and style
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I Am an Ordinary Man: Getting and Wearing Suits in Britain 1945-1980
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Locating Menswear – A Non-Hierarchical Exploration of Place and Community.
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The Repositioning of the Football Jersey from the Pitch to the Runway.
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Curating Semi-Synthetic and Synthetic Fibres and Fabrics 2022
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Painted sheepskin coat, A/W1999
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Through a Lens – A comparison of contested masculine identities as reflected in clothing, place, and portraiture
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Groves, Andrew 2022. Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive: A case study of garment-research as a pedagogical practice. IFFTI2022. University of Nottingham 05 - 08 Apr 2022 International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institute.
Book Review: Dandy Style: 250 Years of British Men's Fashion
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Face masks from the Westminster Menswear Archive
Groves, Andrew 2021. Face masks from the Westminster Menswear Archive. Online Dec 2021 - Jan 2023
Clothing the Pandemic: A Virtual Exhibition of COVID-19 Face Masks from Around the World
Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2021. Clothing the Pandemic: A Virtual Exhibition of COVID-19 Face Masks from Around the World. 23 Dec 2021
C.P. Library
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Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19
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Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2021. Contaminated Objects - Collecting and Exhibiting Face Masks during COVID-19. Clothing the Pandemic Conference. Online 01 Dec 2021 - 01 Mar 2022 ICOM Costume: ICOM International Committee for Museums and Collections of Costume, Fashion and Textiles.
Undercover: The Migration of Face Coverings During COVID-19
Groves, Andrew and Sprecher, Danielle 2021. Undercover: The Migration of Face Coverings During COVID-19. The Many Faces of Migration: An Interdisciplinary Unconference. online 29 - 30 Apr 2021
In and Out of Fashion - Aligning Education with the International Fashion Calendar
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Introduction
Groves, Andrew 2021. Introduction. in: C.P. Company 971-021: An Informal History of Italian Sportswear Italy Tristate International SA. pp. 13-15
Undercover
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Palliative Prototypes or Therapeutic Functionality? Examining C.P. Company’s Urban Protection Collection
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Masking Masculinity – An overview of the mask in menswear before and after COVID-19
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Demob Suits: One Uniform for Another? Burtons and the Leeds Multiple Tailors' Production of Men's Demobilization Tailoring after the Second World War
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Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2019. Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive . Ambika P3, London 24 Oct - 24 Nov 2019
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Sprecher, D. 2019. I am an ordinary man: Getting and wearing suits in Britain 1945-1980. Everyday Fashion: Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Clothes. University of Huddersfield and University of Leeds 27 - 28 Jun 2019 University of Huddersfield.
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Groves Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2019. Invisible Men Conference . Invisible Men Conference. Ambika P3 29 - 29 Oct 2019
Invisible Men: an Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive
Groves, Andrew 2019. Invisible Men: an Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive. University of Westminster. https://doi.org/10.34737/qqq4v
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Sprecher, D. 2018. Knitwear in the Westminster Menswear Archive: Building a Collection. In the Loop at 10. Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton 19 - 20 Jul 2018 University of Southampton.
Fashionable Yorkshire – Five Centuries of Style
Sprecher, D. and Raw, Natalie 2017. Fashionable Yorkshire – Five Centuries of Style. Lotherton Hall, Leeds Museums and Galleries 16 Mar - 31 Dec 2017
The University of Westminster menswear archive: developing a new resource
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Well Dressed Men: From Montague Burton to Topman
Sprecher, D. 2016. Well Dressed Men: From Montague Burton to Topman. in: Selby, Elizabeth (ed.) Moses, Mods and Mr Fish: The Menswear Revolution London Jewish Museum London. pp. 79-88
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Sprecher, D. 2016. Fashion for the High Street: The Design and Making of Menswear in Leeds 1945-1980. PhD thesis University of Leeds School of History
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Groves, Andrew and Leach, Robert 2016. The Vanishing Art of Camouflage.
Archetypes
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Book Review: Advertising Menswear: Masculinity and Fashion in the British Media since 1945
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Sprecher, D. and Raw, Natalie 2015. Tailored: A Very British Fashion.
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Under embargo indefinitelyInvisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive
Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2019. Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive . Ambika P3, London 24 Oct - 24 Nov 2019
Invisible Men Conference
Groves Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2019. Invisible Men Conference . Invisible Men Conference. Ambika P3 29 - 29 Oct 2019