FASHION & FREEDOM

One of the most radical changes at home during the war was the huge change in women’s lives and work. With the men away fighting, more than one million women went to work for the first time during the war years – in munitions factories and on the buses and driving ambulances.

These new responsibilities gave women new freedoms – and they also led to a new look, as tight corsets and heavy skirts were replaced by more natural and fluid silhouettes. A century later, this era has inspired Fashion & Freedom, co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, an ambitious, multi-faceted exhibition that examines the fashion legacy of the First World War for the 21st century.

corset 3

Collaborators include the doyenne of British fashion, from Vivienne Westwood to Roksanda Ilincic and the next generation of fashion talent through contributions from students at ten British fashion colleges, working to the First World War-influenced theme of Restriction and Release.

A series of specially commissioned original short films including films by directors from SHOWstudio and Luke Snellin who wrote and directed first.