Exhibiting Fashion Toolkit

A guide to exhibition-making for historic dress, textiles, fashion and costume
Exhibiting Fashion Toolkit project
 
The Exhibiting Fashion Toolkit is a collaborative, practice-based research initiative dedicated to advancing professional, curatorial and museological practices in fashion exhibition-making.
 
Led by a Principal Investigator (PI) from the Centre for Fashion Curation (CfFC) at the University of the Arts London (UAL), the project takes an exhibition-maker’s perspective, focusing on exhibition development guided by visual and spatial centred methodologies, rather than discipline-based curatorial practice centred on collection management and collections-based research.
Working alongside a filmmaker Co-Investigator (Co-I) from the University of Plymouth and three regional museum partners – Beecroft Art Gallery (Southend), Bankfield Museum (Halifax) and Manchester Art Gallery – this project captures the live production of fashion exhibitions in professional settings. The museums were selected through preparatory research and development to maximise the project's geographic reach.
Manchester Art Gallery
 

Project objectives

The project aims to advance professional, curatorial and museological practices in the field of fashion exhibition-making. Key objectives include:
  • Creating three venue-specific exhibitions: each exhibition will be tailored to its host institution's collections, spaces and audiences, showcasing how an exhibition-maker's approach can unlock new curatorial potential.
  • Developing digital audience experiences: should accessibility challenges arise, exhibitions will be adapted into interactive digital experiences, ensuring broader engagement.
  • Conducting evaluative research: using filmmaking, interviews and project journals, the team will document and analyse exhibition-making practices to identify effective methodologies.

  • Creating a practical toolkit: insights from the project will inform the Exhibiting Fashion Toolkit, an online resource designed to equip non-specialist curators in small- and medium-sized museums with the skills to create engaging, resource-efficient fashion displays. Hosted by UAL, this toolkit will provide expert guidance on exhibition development and curation.
  • Engaging stakeholders and measuring impact: collaborating curators, museum professionals and audiences will participate in evaluation strategies to refine the toolkit and assess its influence on curatorial practices.
  • Disseminating new knowledge: findings will be shared through symposiums, academic papers, professional publications and exhibition visitor guides, ensuring accessibility to a wide range of museum professionals and researchers.
Exhibiting Fashion Toolkit
Exhibiting Fashion Toolkit
Exhibiting Fashion Toolkit
Four Tet performs in the midst of a Squidsoup light installation in 2019 (courtesy: Rikard Osterlund/Squidsoup)

Research in the School of Art, Design and Architecture

Our researchers work across the arts and humanities fields, from fine arts to game design to architecture and environmental engineering. We have particular strengths in interdisciplinary collaboration from a local to a global scale to advance knowledge and catalyse change. The focus of research in the School is on addressing global and societal challenges, and researchers are actively engaged with stakeholders outside the University context to contribute to meaningful and tangible impact for people, the environment, and communities.

SHAPE disciplines address global challenges associated with marine, health and sustainability through the lens of place

Through five place-based research themes, we investigate the intricate relationships between communities, the natural world, and technology.
Locally, we co-create sustainable solutions to complex problems in order to build resilient and thriving neighbourhoods, cities, and regions. This work transcends geographical, social and political boundaries to become applicable on a global level.
place-based research
SHAPE – Social Sciences, Humanities, and the Arts for People and the Economy