CRAWFORD HERITAGE COUTURE
A Private Study Archive of Twentieth-Century Dress
Crawford Heritage Couture (CHC) is an independent study archive dedicated to the preservation and research of exceptional twentieth-century clothing.
The archive focuses particularly on mid-century British and Irish couture, London dressmaking and bespoke fashion, preserving garments as material evidence of the designers, ateliers, techniques and social history of their time.
PRESERVING THE GARMENT AS EVIDENCE
A garment can reveal far more than its appearance.
Its label, construction, fabric, stitching, internal structure, alterations and signs of wear can provide important evidence about who made it, how it was made, when it was made and how it was worn.
At CHC, garments are studied as objects of material culture, with attention given to construction, attribution, provenance, craftsmanship and historical context.
A RECORD OF A CHANGING FASHION WORLD
The archive is particularly interested in the fashion system that existed around London couture and society dressmaking during the post-war period.
This includes the relationship between couturiers, private dressmakers, specialist ateliers, ready-to-wear houses and the women who wore their clothes.
Many aspects of this world are now disappearing. CHC seeks to preserve examples that can help document how this sophisticated system operated.
RESEARCH • DOCUMENTATION • PRESERVATION
CHC is not a retail collection.
The garments retained within the archive are held for research, education, documentation and interpretation rather than sale.
Each piece contributes to an expanding body of material evidence through which twentieth-century dress can be examined and understood.
FOR CURATORS, RESEARCHERS & COLLECTIONS
Crawford Heritage Couture welcomes opportunities for dialogue with museums, curators, researchers, fashion historians and collections professionals interested in twentieth-century dress and material culture.
The archive can provide object-based observations and research relating to garment construction, labels, attribution, provenance and the history of British and Irish dressmaking.
THE ARCHIVE
Crawford Heritage Couture
Preserving the material history of twentieth-century dress.