Material Matters: Weaving together History, Innovation & Sustainability in the Textiles Industry

Body scanning technology provides clear opportunities for the creation of more inclusive clothing practices. Currently clothing has limited sizing options and this impacts on body imager perception as highly varied population struggle with limited clothing offering in terms of size, shape and proportion. In this talk I will introduce body scanning and fashion engineering as possible options for creating clothing offering that better reflect our highly varied populations.

Clothing is an essential - and often taken-for-granted - part of our everyday lives. In fact, access to adequate clothing is a human right. And despite billions of new garments being produced, consumed, and disposed of each year, clothing deprivation and inadequacy is a problem faced by many. So how many clothes are enough? What does adequate clothing mean? And can we balance the need for a more sustainable clothing industry with an increase in accessibility for the clothing deprived?

Bethany’s presentation will explore Greater Manchester’s textile legacy, reframing the industry’s perceived decline as a period of transition. Drawing on her PhD research into contemporary textile manufacturing, she will discuss the region's textile history and how Cottonopolis paved the way for modern manufacturing innovations.