Painted Garments: Conversations between painting, fashion and textiles: Symposium presentation

Commencement paper given at 'Painted Garments' symposium

The ‘Painted Garments’ symposium explores links between and within painting, textiles and fashion. From artists who depict clothing in their work to designers inspired by painting and those working directly onto or in response to garments and textiles, the symposium features contributions from artists, designers and academics working at the intersection of these subjects.

Several recent high-profile exhibitions have explored work at this juncture, notably Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art, Barbican (2024), Sargent and Fashion, Tate Britain (2024), Collection in Focus: The Reach of Faith Ringgold, Guggenheim New York (2025), and Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction, LACMA, Los Angeles (2024). Fashion houses frequently collaborate with artists to translate their paintings into garments. Recent examples include Vivienne Westwood, Louis Vuitton and Uniqlo, amongst many others.

There is a surge of public and scholarly interest in textile and fashion histories, yet their integration with painting scholarship remains underexplored. The ‘Painted Garments’ one-day symposium convened by Dr. Tom Cardwell and Dr. Sarah Kate Wilson seeks to redress this gap.