Study Day: The Critical Fashion Museum

Scholars, curators and museum professionals rethink the role and responsibility of fashion museums.

Visitor information

Fashion museums and exhibitions have increasingly become sites of critical debate. Colonial and imperial legacies, institutional biases and structural inequalities are being reassessed, while the growing influence of fashion brands and commercial partnerships raises new questions about the responsibility and autonomy of museums and curators.

The Critical Fashion Museum brings together international scholars, curators and museum professionals to explore what it means to be ‘critical’ today. Through talks, conversations and workshops, the study day addresses curatorial positionality, scholarly independence, decoloniality and the relationship between museums, communities and the fashion industry.

This study day is organised by MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp, Revers (Ghent University) and The New School Parsons Paris.

Programme

  • Carol Tulloch (University of the Arts London) opens the study day with a keynote speech.
  • José Teunissen (Amsterdam Fashion Institute) and Caroline Stevenson (London College of Fashion) discuss the histories of critical fashion curating, moderated by Maude Bass-Krueger (Ghent University).
  • After lunch, participants are invited to a visit and walk-through of the exhibition The Antwerp Six.
  • Kaat Debo (MoMu) and Sonnet Stanfill (Victoria and Albert Museum) discuss exhibitions, museums and the fashion industry. The conversation is moderated by Marco Pecorari (The New School Parsons Paris).
  • During the workshops, participants explore four themes:
    • Institutional Critique
    • Decoloniality
    • Digital Matters
    • Methodologies
  • The study day concludes with the research award announcement, followed by drinks.