A new exhibit at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries tells the history of clothing, but not through fads like hoop skirts and bell bottoms. Instead, the display outlines the technology, economics and cultural changes that have led to today’s conveniences and consequences of “fast fashion.”
The exhibit, entitled “From Farms to Fast Fashion: Unraveling the Need for Sustainable Style,” weaves together the complicated history of fashion and clothing production from the days of spinning cotton into cloth and hand-sewing at home to today’s consumer lifestyle that often values novelty over durability and craftsmanship.
Alongside dresses, photographs, and fashion magazines from different eras, the display includes a number of tools of the trade, from 19th century spinning frames, looms, and mending kits to the synthetic fibers and machinery of the past 50 years. Visitors will learn about the history of clothing production 200 years ago when cotton not only drove fashion trends but the Georgia economy. The exhibit continues into the heyday of the American textile industry until new technology in the last 50 years led to the decreased need for labor and increased outsourcing of production to Asia.
The display explains generational shifts from the “make do and mend” generation that survived the Great Depression to the “throw away society” just a few decades later and then the upcycling that began in the ‘90s and into the 21st century. To honor that theme of sustainability, the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library is partnering with the UGA student group Fair Fashion to host a clothing swap as part of the exhibit’s Opening Reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 6. Community members are invited to bring clothing, shoes, and accessories to swap with others. In addition, the free event includes light refreshments and gallery tours.
The exhibit, which will remain on display through July, includes photographs, articles, and documents that lay bare the social and cultural issues within the clothing industry at each stage of its life cycle, including slavery, both in 19th century South and in the global fashion industry today, child and immigrant labor stories, sweatshops, union reforms, and more. Many of the items on display come from the Anne Barge Historic Clothing and Textile Collection from the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences.
An interactive room inside the display considers possible futures for sustainable fashion with a display of modular clothing from Atlanta-based designer and UGA alumna Pamela Morris James.
While the exhibit stitches in the variegated strands of clothing history from Georgia, the United States, and the world, it includes a special nod to the Athens community. A wall mural and panel describes the centuries-old history of the “Athens Cotton and Wool” mill, later known as the “Athens Factory,” which currently houses the UGA School of Social Work.
Complex Cloth, a project that investigates the history of the Athens Factory in the context of social work, is highlighted in the show with a text panel and digital screen that invites visitors to learn more about this local story. The project is led by professor Jane McPherson, a UGA Special Collections Teaching Libraries Faculty Teaching Fellow, who has delved into the special collections archives to discover the history of the site and the people who worked there.
Made possible with generous support from the Lucy Hargrett Draper Center and Archives for the Study of the Rights of Women in History and Law, the Hargrett Library will host several other events in tandem with the exhibit.
A March 20 event features fashion historian Sara Idacavage, who curated the exhibit while earning her doctoral degree from UGA last year. Idacavage, now an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University, will deliver a talk focused on the themes explored in her display.
Later that month, the Special Collections Libraries will host a Family Day with special activities for kids, including hands-on activities created for new fashion journey boxes through an NEA grant awarded to the College of Family and Consumer Sciences last year. The free event is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 29.
To view the exhibit, visit the UGA Special Collections Building on the UGA campus. Galleries are open to visitors for free from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with extended evening hours until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information or to schedule a tour, visit libs.uga.edu/scl.