The Synthetics Revolution: Man-made fibres and everyday fashion

The Synthetics Revolution: Man-made fibres and everyday fashion is a collaboration between the Yorkshire Fashion Archive, ULITA – an Archive of International Textiles and the Enterprise of Culture collaborative research project at the University of Leeds.

Drawing on two university archives (Yorkshire Fashion Archive and ULITA), this exhibition  explores the rise of the synthetic fibre in everyday clothing in the twentieth century, with particular reference to the Yorkshire region. It looks behind the scenes of the synthetics revolution with the aim of bringing the story of man-made fibres and how we interact with them to life ― from stories of technological developments in the early part of the twentieth century to the role of advertising following the Second World War.

This exhibition showcases the Yorkshire Fashion Archive and ULITA – an Archive of International Textiles, both based in the University's School of Design. It offers a glimpse into the range of items these two archives have in their collections and encourages audiences to engage with them.

The venue for the exhibition is ULITA on the western campus at the University of Leeds. It is open to the public until 1 December 2016. For full details of opening times and venue information, see the ULITA website.

For more details about this collaborative project, please email Fiona Blair or see the events section of the Enterprise of Culture website.

The Synthetics Revolution is curated by Fiona Blair (Enterprise of Culture), Claire Watson & Elaine Evans (Yorkshire Fashion Archive) and Jill Winder (ULITA). The exhibition is financially supported by HERA II (Humanities in the European Research Area) and the EU-funded Rethinking Textiles project.

Image: Rayon sample box Made by Courtaulds Ltd. 1937 (ULITA 2016.154). Photo by Tracey Welch Photography.