MISSION STATEMENT
The Westminster Menswear Archive was established to build and maintain a collection of garments and related artefacts to promote and develop the study of menswear design from a technical and functional perspective; to advance the general knowledge of menswear as a design discipline, and to serve as a resource tool to inform contemporary menswear design.
The archive seeks to educate, motivate, and inspire a wide variety of students, industry professionals, researchers, and other users in order to foster their creativity, learning, and research in fashion and related fields. In addition, it emphasises the significance and relevance of the Westminster Menswear Archive within contemporary fashion education practise, research and scholarship.
LOCATING MENSWEAR
Locating the Absent Shadow: Exploring Connections and Encounters in British Menswear is an international network that examines the cultural and industrial connections between London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Milan, Italy, and how they influenced the production, display, and consumption of British menswear.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) the international network is led by Professor Andrew Groves, Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive, and Jo Jenkinson from Manchester Metropolitan University will host a series of workshops and events in the United Kingdom and Italy in partnership with Sevenstore, C.P. Company, the British Fashion Council, and the UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT).
Publications
Books
Groves, A, and Sprecher. D., 2024. Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive. London & New York: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
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Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive is a unique guide to the role of garment archives as an industry resource for designers to research and examine both historical garments and the work of their peers.
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Groves and Sprecher analyse over 140 key garments from the Westminster Menswear Archive, spanning the last 275 years, each brilliantly photographed in close-up detail and annotated with curator commentary, to inspire new generations of designers.
Book Chapters
Groves, A, 2023. Palliative Prototypes or Therapeutic Functionality? Examining C.P. Company’s Urban Protection Collection. In: Woolley, D., Johnstone, F., Sampson, E., Chambers, P. (Eds.). Wearable Objects and Curative Things: Materialist Approaches to the Intersections of Fashion, Art, Health and Medicine. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Sprecher, D., 2023. I Am an Ordinary Man: Getting and Wearing Suits in Britain 1945–1980. In: Halbert, J., Bide,
B., Tregenza, L., (Eds.) Everyday Fashion: Interpreting British Clothing Since 1600. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Groves, A and Sprecher, D., 2023. Linen in Menswear 1800-present. In: Camilleri, A. (Ed.), 2023. Le Lin, fibre de civilisation(s). Arles: Actes-Sud.
Groves, Andrew 2021. Introduction. In: Morano, L.P., C.P. Company 971-021: An Informal History of Italian Sportswear Italy Tristate International SA. pp. 13-15
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Exhibitions
Clothing the Pandemic: A Virtual Exhibition of COVID-19 Face Masks from Around the World
Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2021. Clothing the Pandemic: A Virtual Exhibition of COVID-19 Face Masks from Around the World. 23 Dec 2021
C.P. Library
Groves, Andrew and Sprecher, Danielle 2021. C.P. Library. Darwen Library, Lancashire 01 - 30 Oct 2021
Undercover – From Necessity to Luxury: The Evolution of Face Coverings During COVID-19
Groves Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2021. Undercover – From Necessity to Luxury: The Evolution of Face Coverings During COVID-19. Online 11 May - 05 Jun 2021
Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19
Groves, Andrew 2021. Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19. London Gallery West 08 - 28 Jun 2021
Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19
Groves Andrew 2021. Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19. https://opensea.io/collection/undercover-from-necessity-to-debris 11 May - 05 Jun 2021
Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive
Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2019. Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive. Ambika P3, London 24 Oct - 24 Nov 2019
Conference Papers
Locating Menswear – A Non-Hierarchical Exploration of Place and Community.
Groves, Andrew, Sprecher, Danielle, Jenkinson, Jo and Owen, Paul 2023. Locating Menswear – A Non-Hierarchical Exploration of Place and Community. Dress Devolution. Falmouth University 06 - 07 Jul 2023
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The Repositioning of the Football Jersey from the Pitch to the Runway.
Groves, Andrew and Sprecher, Danielle 2023. The Repositioning of the Football Jersey from the Pitch to the Runway. International Football History Conference. Hampden Park Stadium, Glasgow 30 Jun - 01 Jul 2023
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Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive: A case study of garment-research as a pedagogical practice.
Groves, Andrew 2022. Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive: A case study of garment-research as a pedagogical practice. IFFTI2022. University of Nottingham 05 - 08 Apr 2022 International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institute.
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Contaminated Objects - Collecting and Exhibiting Face Masks during COVID-19
Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2021. Contaminated Objects - Collecting and Exhibiting Face Masks during COVID-19. Clothing the Pandemic Conference. Online 01 Dec 2021 - 01 Mar 2022 ICOM Costume: ICOM International Committee for Museums and Collections of Costume, Fashion and Textiles.
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Palliative Prototypes or Therapeutic Functionality? Examining C.P. Company’s Urban Protection Collection
Groves, Andrew 2021. Palliative Prototypes or Therapeutic Functionality? Examining C.P. Company’s Urban Protection Collection. Curative Things: Medicine/Fashion/Art. Leeds Arts University - Online 12 Feb 2021 Leeds Arts University.