Dress Devolution 2: The Beach & Beyond

The conference is supported by the Fashion and Textiles Institute at Falmouth University and will take place at the University’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, UK.

Dress Devolution Conference

Conference Details and Call for Papers

Project lead Fashion & Textiles Institute
Centre alignment Centre for Heritage, Culture & Society
Call for papers deadline 29 April 2024
Conference date 9 - 11 July 2024 
Location

The Fashion and Textiles Institute at Falmouth University, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK

The beach as a liminal space has long been a site of leisured dress practices.

Wardrobes that evolved for holidays, for recuperation, for retirement and for rest occupy a specific place in our sartorial lives. Textiles have long been influenced by the beach and the sea, whether for work or for leisure. On-screen representations of beach, leisure and holiday activity produce unique costuming opportunities and challenges. 

For those who live in the beach’s proximity, visit briefly, or merely view from afar, textiles and clothing here bear their own particular significance. For this, our second Dress Devolution conference, we welcome papers that explore the beach and the sea in the context of dress, costume and textiles, past and present. From beach pyjamas to the fisherman’s Gansey; from sport to industry to art, we look forward to inspiring research around coastal spaces.

The conference is supported by the Fashion and Textiles Institute at Falmouth University and will take place at the University’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, UK.

We ask for your proposals for 30 minute presentations on themes that might include but are not limited to:

  • Beach fashion and seaside style
  • Coastal industries and textiles
  • The holiday wardrobe
  • Poolside glamour
  • Beauty pageants
  • The riviera flaneur
  • Small scale production and seaside inspirations
  • Local supply chains
  • Traditional textiles
  • De-centring fashion language
  • Redefinitions of what it is to be fashionable
  • New fashion geographies
  • Online creative communities
  • Sub culture and communities

Please send a 300 word abstract and brief bio by Tuesday 29 April  to the following email address:

E: dressdevolution@falmouth.ac.uk

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