Proceedings of the ICOM Costume Committee Annual Meeting in Switzerland 2024

2024 ICOM Costume Annual Conference
‘PRINTS: From Painted Cloth to Printed Textiles,’ Switzerland 16-19 May 2024

The theme of the 2024 ICOM Costume Committee Annual Conference, ‘PRINTS: From Painted Cloth to Printed Textiles’ aims to explore techniques, dyes, and design patterns in clothing culture throughout time and geographical zones. Following the Huguenots’ banishment from France in the mid-17th century, Switzerland became a hub for the manufacturing and trade of printed textiles. Industries related to the production of printed fabrics experienced a rapid growth throughout the 19th century. To this day, Switzerland produces high-quality printed fabrics, and Swiss museums house valuable collections of such items.
Printing techniques, widely used in contemporary fashion, are the most popular way to decorate clothing fabrics. The annual theme for the conference is dedicated to the history and contemporary relevance of prints in fashion, focusing attention on both the beauty of vintage prints and their contemporary uses.
Today’s fashion is difficult to imagine without the possibility of printing. This particular decorating technique’s simple design process and low cost—in comparison with weaving techniques—allow printed fabric patterns to be created in both large enterprises and small businesses.
The Proceedings of the annual conference 2024 showcase ongoing projects, exhibitions, museums, and collections on research topics reflecting PRINTS throughout history, in conjunction with the development of new technologies, the influence of art movements, social or political events, and changing tastes.

The annual conference presented a new format with several venues in different Swiss museums—Switzerland being known for having the highest rate of museums per inhabitant. ICOM Costume members were happy to discover a portion of them related to the field of dress, fashion and, textiles in Geneva, Prangins, Yverdon, Neuchâtel, and Lausanne.
Day one was hosted at the Museum of Art and History in Geneva, for paper sessions followed by a tour of the Graphic Arts Cabinet and its great collection of fans, specialised collections of Indian miniatures, fashion plates, books of ornaments and textiles sample books. The day ended with a printing workshop session at the atelier GeGrave, where we experienced printing techniques on paper and textile. Second day, hosted at the Swiss National Museum—Château de Prangins—offered paper sessions followed by tours of the galleries and of the permanent exhibition of Indiennes, as well as workshops about natural dyeing plants and techniques, organised in the garden. The third day took place on the shores of Lake Neuchâtel, at the Swiss Fashion Museum in Yverdon, with a visit to the space dedicated to couturier Robert Piguet (1898-1953), at the castle, and a visit to the fashion reserves foreshadowing the future deployment of the Swiss Fashion Museum. Afterwards, participants were welcomed at the Neuchâtel Museum of Art and History and had the opportunity to study an exceptional 18th century Banyan Robe de Meuron. The committee also had the privilege of witnessing a very unique demonstration of 18th-century automatons kept by Jacquet-Droz in the museum’s collections, on the occasion of the International Museum Day, on 18 May. A visit to a 17th-century private historical site for Indiennes manufacturing on the edge of the lake marked the end of the day.
The congress ended with an excursion day to Lausanne and a visit to two exceptional sites: the Olympic Museum in Lausanne and the SAPA Foundation for the Performing Arts and Entertainment.

I would like to thank all participants, speakers, and attendees, representatives of 16 countries. I feel very grateful to our dedicated colleagues and their wonderful staffs for organising and hosting the conference paper sessions, and for arranging museums visits and workshops in the different venues: the Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève, the Musée national suisse at château de Prangins, the Musée suisse de la mode in Yverdon-les-Bains, the Musée d’art et d’histoire de Neuchâtel, the musée Olympique in Lausanne, and the Fondation SAPA.

Corinne Thépaut-Cabasset, Chair of ICOM Costume Committee, Château de Versailles, France.
ISBN: 978-2-491997-92-2
Proceedings edited by Corinne Thépaut-Cabasset, for ICOM Costume Committee.
Proofreading and graphic design by Virginie Lassarre.
Image caption and copyright (cover): Silk pattern camisole in reserve on an indigo background, Swiss Natinal Museum, inv. LM 7612 © MNS

Content

Indian Chintzes and Printed Cottons at the Fries Museum
Arnolli, Gieneke

Chasubles et parements liturgiques peints
Berthod, Bernard

The Archive of the Neue Augsburger Kattunfabrik (NAK)
Breil, Michaela

Blue-dye Fabric in Hungary: A Living Tradition
Kollár, Csilla

Prints From the Work of Gosia Baczyńska, a Polish Fashion Designer During the Polish Transition Era
Kowalska, Joanna Regina

Une coopération économique franco-indienne suite à la visite des ambassadeurs de Tipou Saëb à Versailles, en 1788
Lamy, Gabriela

From Indiennes* to Industrial Printed Cotton: A focus on Swiss Traditional Dress
Laurenti, Lisa

Diane von Fürstenberg, un imprimé pour la liberté
Lor, Nicolas

Traditional Dyeing Techniques in Moroccan Amazigh Textiles: Ancestral Knowledge and Regional Practices
Loukid, Khalid

Serigrafía a contramano
Martinez, Constanza

XEROXED Edition 001- Against Boredom: Delirious Is Beautiful
Mascia, Martina Alia