The Association of Dress Historians Annual New Research Conference 2026
About this Event
The New Research in Dress History Conference 2026
The Association of Dress Historians (ADH) is delighted to host the New Research in Dress History Conference 2026. This is a hybrid event that will take place at The Art Workers’ Guild, London, UK, and can be followed online on Thursday, 15th October. Please note that the event will not be recorded.
Our convenors and members of the ADH Executive Committee, Ellie McCartney (Secretary) and Valentina Lava (Communications Lead – Newsletter), present a varied programme that reflects the goal of the New Research in Dress History Conference by exploring themes covering dress, adornment and its materials, untold global histories and connections, curatorial practices and conservation by emerging scholars and professionals. Speakers have 15minutes for their presentations, and the panels are followed by a Q&A with all the panel’s speakers.
An abbreviated schedule of the day:
10:00 Registration & Welcome by Polly Putnam (ADH Chair), Ellie McCartney & Valentina Lava (Conference Convenors)
10:30 –12:00 Panel 1 | Chair: Valentina Lava
“Theatrical Materialities: Silk Playbills and Woburn Abbey’s Private Theatre c. 1843-1857” - Hannah Bradshaw
“Refashioning luxury: antique lace and the boteh motif in nineteenth century women’s dress” - Brooke Stephens
“Hidden and Understated Kimono Aesthetics under Japan’s Sumptuary Laws during the Edo Period” - Yuniya Kawamura
“Sartorial Architectures of Modern Mobility: Late Victorian Dress and the Shifting Landscapes of Feminine Sensuality” - Simona Preda
12:00 – 12:30 Coffee break and networking
12:30 – 14:00 Panel 2 | Chair: Alba Sanz Álvarez
“Snow Queens of Laurentians: Downhill Ski Fashion and "Made in Montreal" Branding Initiatives of the 1960s” - Alexis Walker
“Arriving Dressed: Adornment, Dignity, and the Diasporic Feminine Tradition" - Keishel Williams
"A Curatorial Exploration of ‘Practising Beauty: Self-assertion and Collective Power’” - Benedetta Morsiani
“Thickening the Archive: A critical analysis of plus-size representation within UK museum fashion collections and recommendations towards a fat liberatory collecting practice” - Larissa Jennings
14:00 – 15:00 Lunch
15:00 – 16:30 Panel 3 | Chair: Ellie McCartney
“Sacred Uniforms: Dress, Devotion, and Ritual Resistance in the United Farm Workers Movement, 1965–1966” - Tannya Villalvazo
“‘You could do whatever you wanted at any time!’: Evaluating what working class women were wearing and doing in the North East of England in the 1960s and how this compared to “Swinging” London” - Jasmine Howard
“Befeathered Queens: Catherine de Medici and Marie Antoinette” - Helena Cox
“Dressing a Queen: Materials, Making, and the Fashion Economy of Bourbon Naples (18321836)” - Fatima Giordano
16:30 – 17:30 Networking & Reception
Check the complete Programme here.
Find out more about The Association of Dress Historians and become a member:
https://dresshistorians.org/
Contact information:
For queries regarding this conference, please contact: [email protected]
For queries regarding ticketing and the venue, please contact [email protected]
*Image Credits: Length by Anna Maria Garthwaite, woven by John Sabatier, 1752. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/231076
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 25.00 to GBP 50.00
