Natalie Raw
Curator of Costume and Textiles
Leeds Museums and Galleries
Natalie Raw is the curator of costume and textiles for Leeds Museums and Galleries. She is the co-supervisor for a PhD researcher working on an AHRC funded collaborative doctoral award exploring the post war Leeds tailoring and menswear industry.
Abstract
Tailored—The Leeds tailoring industry and its contribution to the history of British fashion
From the mid-19th century the Leeds tailoring industry grew dramatically. Previous studies of the industry have focussed on the industrialisation of tailoring and the innovations in manufacturing that helped the Leeds tailors to become the largest producers of menswear by the start of the First World War. At Leeds Museums and Galleries we hold collections which reflect this history but a large part of our collection is made up of the end product – the suit. Through an AHRC funded collaborative doctoral award it has been possible to research Leeds tailoring industry in a new way, so as to help interpret these collections and place them within the history of consumerism and men’s fashion design.