Objectif
This study of Renaissance dress offers a better understanding of how fashion developed at popular levels of
society in Europe, 1550-1650. Drawing on documentary, visual and material evidence, it investigates
fundamental questions relating to the transformation of fashion that will shed light on popular taste,
dissemination, transformation and adaption of fashion, on imitation and meaning, and on changing cultural
attitudes to dress among popular groups. The central goal of the project is to develop a new methodology that
combines my previous experience of empirical research and theoretical models with the tradition of textile
analysis and costume conservation. This involves experimenting with a range of techniques, including
technical analysis of textiles, dye- and fibre analysis, and the reconstruction and visualization of historical
fashions using both 16th-century recipes as well as modern digital tools such as 3D printing and digital
reconstruction. This framework of dress and textile history at both scientific and experimental levels helps me
to provide a more comprehensive interpretation of the value, variations, and material experiences that were
associated with dress and dressing in the Renaissance, and to develop methodologies that allow us to explore
new ways in which narratives from historical documents, books, images, and material objects can be created.
The new historical knowledge and methodologies built during the ERC will lead to the ultimate theoretical
objective of the project –to rethink the scientific foundation and theory of dress studies within the ‘new
materialist’ framework. By creating a material-based approach and methodologies to the study of fashion in the
context of popular groups, my research will not only build new horizons for the study of popular dress and its
material and cultural significance in the Renaissance, but it will also create a theoretical model that challenges
dress historians to go beyond semiotic analysis of dress.
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdatabases
- humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistory
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringtextiles
- humanitiesartsmodern and contemporary artcinematography
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringmanufacturing engineeringadditive manufacturing
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitution d’accueil
02150 Espoo
Finlande