University of Leeds introduces study to research fashion history

The University of Leeds has launched a new three year

collaborative project to research the business of fashion history, based in the School of History. The new project was granted one million euros, or 836,000 thousand pounds from the Humanities in the European Research Area II Joint research programme.

'The Enterprise of Culture', will be lead by Professor Regina Lee Blaszczyk, who is the leadership chair in the history of Business and Society. The research project will focus on the international networks and links that have brought the fashion industry together since 1945. Research will be used to analyze different sectors of the industry, such how fashion crosses boundaries and unites schools, professionals, the media and forecast analysts.

“Fashion is often studied from a theoretical perspective, from costume or dress history viewpoints, or from a popular media-driven vantage point,” explained Blaszczyk on the University site. “This project breaks new ground, using the fashion business to examine how types of cultural encounters — between 'core' fashion cities like Paris and London and 'peripheral' areas such as Sweden and Scotland; between style labs and the high street; and between fibre makers, clothing manufacturers and retailers — stimulated innovation, and created a new, competitive industry.”

Partners for the project include academic and non-academic influences from the universities of Leeds, Erasmus Rotterdam, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Newcastle, Oslo, St Andrews and Heriot-Watt and the London Center for Business History. Each university who joins in the project will act as a research center, working alongside with the non-academic organizations for participants to meet and share information.

The University of Leeds is planning a public launch to display the research outlines of the project to a larger audience and unit all participants in the study. Organized with the M&S Company Archive, the University will host a series of discussions lead by industry experts, researchers on the 5th of December at the Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall.