Shirt Futures

Anne McCloy curated an exhibition of work by students from the Central Saint Martins BA Fashion Course at The Shirt Factory Project gallery as part of Derry~Londonderry City of Culture 2013.

“The inspiration for bringing this project to Derry was provided by the late Inez McCormack after hearing her speak in January 2012 about the history of the shirt industry in the city, the importance of the role of women in the economic and social fabric of the city and how she felt that contribution was now enormously overlooked and largely forgotten. City of Culture and The Shirt Factory Project by Rita Du!y gave us the framework to deliver the idea. Though the shirt industry in Derry is all but gone, the shirt as a garment lives on and we run a project every year at CSM which challenges the students to reconsider the perceived definition of the shirt through exploring their use of silhouette, proportion, fabric and colour. The only design parameters in place are that they use certain shirt features and finishes, such as collars, cuffs and plackets. How and where they use these is open to interpretation and the result must be a successfully resolved garment. We have selected the best shirt outcomes from across Womenswear, Menswear, Print and Marketing and from a truly international base with students represented from America, China, Ecuador, South Korea, Malaysia, Serbia and the UK.

We hope it inspires and provokes thought and a recognition and development of skill, creativity and talent.” Anne McCloy - Curator, Associate Lecturer, Central Saint Martins.

“This exhibition represents a celebration of Derry’s history of shirt making and the continuing importance of the shirt in contemporary dress through the work of young designers. Central Saint Martins BA Fashion is very proud to be involved.”
Willie Walters - Programme Director of Fashion at Central Saint Martins.