Conference

Culture Costume and Dress
Fashioning the Diaspora: Dress as a medium of cultural expression

Faculty of Arts, Design and Media, Birmingham City University
Wednesday 15th November 2023 – Friday 17th November 2023

Please note that this year’s conference will be online.

The Dress in Context Research Centre is pleased to announce its fourth international conference. This year’s theme will be the role of dress in expressing culture, and its manifestation in fashion, history, literature, art, and other fields.

Dress has always been used to express who we are. The way we present ourselves, and how we are perceived by others, is to a large extent, created by the clothes we wear. Clothing also reinforces our internal self-awareness, such that we create a persona that allows us to navigate our social and psychological milieu. It is little wonder then that our sense of group awareness is also underpinned by the clothes we wear. Whether professionally, socially, or culturally, we gain a sense of belonging by dressing in a similar way to those we relate to. On a cultural level, this belonging aspect has political and societal implications that are worth exploring in some detail, and it is this that will be the focus of this year’s conference. 

In addition to full papers and posters, we are also inviting contributions from Masters (and strong undergraduate) students to take part in a dedicated session.

Conference theme
Keynote speakers
Organising committee
Reviewing committee