Fashion's Memory

'Fashion's Memory' was an analysis of the work of the German artist/designer/ethnographer Max Tilke. The exhibition explored the continuing cross-cultural use of basic clothing shapes. Tilke was investigating the cut of ethnographic garments at the beginning of the twentieth century and published several books on the subject. My research into his work led to a collaboration with Schoeser and Stabb that resulted in exhibitions at the Lethaby Gallery and at the University of California Davis.

Tilke’s books have been an important influence on fashion design (Zandra Rhodes used his patterns for her early collections), on contemporary wearable art and on theatrical costume design.

My research into the background of Tilke and his work led me to find his original, still uncatalogued, research drawings and the finished drawings, which were used for his books in the archives at the Lipperheidesche Kostümbibliothek in Berlin. This exhibition was the first time that some of these important drawings were made public.

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