object biography in worn clothing acquired by institutional collections in the United Kingdom (Cyana Madsen, 2023)

Abstract - The research in this thesis identifies an under-explored area in dress and fashion curatorship: how curatorial bias impacts the interpretation of wearer and object biography. This thesis responds to the growing focus on object biography and underrepresented histories in the discipline through examination of the experts charged with analysing, interpreting, and documenting these biographies.

Theories are drawn from ethnography, neuroscience, phenomenology, new materialist studies, and material culture studies to construct an understanding of practitioner experience when analysing and interpreting worn clothing objects. The impact of curatorial bias on object biography during material culture analysis is identified using the original concept “curatorial interruption”.

A discipline-specific foundational survey establishes a data set detailing the demographics and working environments of practitioners engaging with garments held in UK public collections. This is supported by an in-depth study of curatorial practice establishing sources of individual subjectivity and discipline- wide factors informing decision-making during material culture analysis.

Drawing on methodologies from relevant fields including anthropology, textile conservation, cognitive and forensic science, this research aims to propose practical strategies specific to the analysis of worn garments which mitigate curatorial bias and improve the retention of object (and wearer) biography.