Case studies

Joint winner of our 2019 fashion competition Andrew Froud from the University of Brighton took inspiration from the Library’s collections to design his set of textiles.

While visiting the British Library in search of inspiration I found myself fixating on examples of intricacy and intimacy seen throughout the building. From the intricacy found in the various British Library stamps seen in the books themselves to the intimacy presented during the act of transferring personal belongings into clear plastic bags for those that wish to enter the Reading Rooms.

Mrs Bury Palliser, a history of lace second edition, (London, sampson Low & Co 1875)

This analysis prompted research into examples of the marriage between intricacy and intimacy. Lace instantly came to mind. Lace-weaving is a notoriously intricate process that results in an intimate and beautiful textile. I used the British Library’s online collection to research the historic documentation of the craft. My primary resource for research imagery came from the online catalogue on which I discovered A history of lace (1875, 2nd edition), containing countless examples of lace in various stages of manufacture.

British Library stamps taken from: Dorothy Holt, an address to the ladies of Great Britain relating to the most valuable part of ornamental manufacture in their dress [i.e. lace] (London, 1757) and Mrs Bury Palliser, a history of lace (2nd edition), (London, Sampson Low & Co., 1875)

The lace-making process led me to explore contemporary printed textiles that draw inspiration from the woven intricacy that lace embodies – covering the body, while highlighting the negative space between the fabric and the wearer.

Stand work: inspired by the elements of shape and texture seen in my lace research

My collection for the British Library X Nabil Nayal fashion competition celebrates historic techniques in a contemporary fashion, presenting a new take on lace as a textile, while analysing the intricacy found in the Library itself. It distorts and weaves the images seen on the clear bags and overexposes the British Library’s various library stamps in celebration of the intricate normalities seen upon visiting the institution, coupled with the intimate values of lace documented during my research.

Final illustration