This year’s annual conference of the GfDG will take place on 14 and 15 June in Augsburg. It is dedicated to the diverse functions of clothing – from historical uniforms to innovative, smart outfits.
The Society for Design History is dedicating this year’s annual conference to the diverse functions of clothing. Starting with the preserved clothes of the glacier mummy from the South Tyrolean Alps,” the announcement reads, “a wide range of topics will unfold, from ice hockey jerseys to the history of innovation of the Gore brand, from the Russian space suit to the history of Deutsche Bahn uniforms, from 3D knitwear to the Klepper coat and smart clothing.
The programme of the conference, which will take place on 14 and 15 June at the Staatliches Textil- und Gewerbemuseum (tim) in Augsburg, includes lectures on the “Oscillation of functional clothing between design and purpose” (Thilo Schwer), Knitting – a living process with a long history’ (Franz Dietrich), ‘Functional concepts of the ice hockey jersey’ (Theres Rohde), ‘Gore Ware’ (Stefanie Then), ‘Smart textiles, smart clothing’ (Wolfgang Schepers) and ‘Electronic functional clothing as productive hybrids’ (Katharina Bredies). There will be presentations on textile recycling (Georg Stegschuster), Deutsche Bahn corporate clothing (Janina Baur) and ‘Workwear for Space Day’ (Charlotte Holzer).
The programme includes a tour of the depot on Friday morning, focusing on historical pattern books, and a tour of the Textile Museum’s permanent exhibition on Saturday morning. In order to support young scholars, a round of lectures with four doctoral students is planned for Friday evening as part of the Doctoral Colloquium.
