Proceedings of the ICOM Costume Committee Annual Meeting in Edinburgh 2023 - ICOM COSTUME

The theme of the 2023 ICOM Costume Committee Annual is ‘All the Colours of Black’.

Black is not technically considered a colour; scientifically it represents the absence, or complete absorption of visible light. Yet black is a recurrent feature in the colour palette and language of fashion, in which its adaptability leaves it open to interpretation by the different groups of people that have adopted it. It is at once the colour of protest, of mourning and of melancholy; it is sinister—associated with night, death, sin and evil. It is both serious, connoting respect, diligence, and humility, as in the black worn by religious orders, and rebellious, as in the styling of punk and goth subcultures. Black is sophisticated yet charged with eroticism; it is both pious and perverse.

Black’s paradoxical meanings have a long history in dress and textiles. Famously, it is a difficult colour to achieve, and its appearance in dress once connoted great wealth—it was first popularised throughout the courts of Europe, from Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1396-1467) in mourning for his father after 1419, to the Spanish Emperor Charles V (1500-1558) and Catherine de Medicis (1519-1589), Queen Consort of Henry II of France (1547-1559). Black’s symbolism goes far beyond sartorial trends too—in Ancient Egypt, for example, as in other parts of Africa and Asia, black was simultaneously symbolic of life and death, described by the celebrated Professor and colour historian, Michel Pastoureau, as the ‘colour of the bowels of the earth and the underground world’. Its interpretation in dress, textiles, and fashion therefore emphasises how our relationship to clothes is deeply personal, linked to our political, economic, and cultural materiality.

The ICOM Costume annual conference for 2023 was hosted by National Museums Scotland (NMS) in Edinburgh, UK, from 25 to 27 September 2023. It was centred around the theme ‘All the Colours of Black’, to coincide with the National Museum’s major summer exhibition, Beyond the Little Black Dress (1 July – 29 October). The meeting had c. 80 in-person attendees representing 23 countries and an overall total of 110 participants representing 27 countries, including those who streamed the conference online.

The opening reception was held at the French Institute of Scotland, with a welcome from Stéphane Pailler, Consul General and Director of the Institut Français d’Écosse. Professor Andrew Groves and Dr Danielle Sprecher from Westminster Menswear Archive opened the proceedings with a presentation on their exhibition Invisible Men, one of three projects recognised by the 2022 ICOM Costume 60th Anniversary Award. A lively series of talks from members concluded with a reflection on approaching 50 years of ICOM Costume membership from Naomi Tarrant, who has been a committee member for 49 years.

Three days of paper sessions at NMS were introduced by Dr Christopher Breward, fashion historian and Director of National Museums Scotland. Session themes ranged from explorations of the colour black in a social and spiritual context; the interpretation of black garments in museum collections, exhibitions and displays; the ceremonial purpose of black in weddings and funerals as well as its role in fashioning identities; and techniques of production.

During these three days in Edinburgh, conference participants had the opportunity to attend curator-led tours of the museum galleries as well as a private view of the exhibition Beyond the Little Black Dress and received guided tours of the National Museums Collection Centre and the textile conservation lab.

Additionally, one afternoon presented the opportunity to visit other local organisations, tailors, designers, and artisan makers, including Dovecot tapestry Studios, Stewart Christie & Co. tailors, Scottish Textiles Showcase, 21st Century Kilts, and the studios of fashion designer Judy R Clark, ceramic artist Frances Priest and artist Christine Clark.

On the final day, attendees took an excursion to The Burrell Collection (which reopened in 2022 following a major refurbishment) just outside of Glasgow, where they received specialist guided tours from the Burrell curators, before convening for a farewell dinner back in Edinburgh.
Corinne Thépaut-Cabasset, chair of ICOM Costume Committee, and Georgina Ripley, host and organiser of the Annual Venue and Conference 2023.

ISBN: 978-2-491997-81-6
Proceedings edited by Corinne Thépaut-Cabasset, for ICOM Costume Committee.
Proofreading and graphic design by Virginie Lassarre.
Image caption and copyright (cover): Jean Muir Ltd, British, c. 1970s. (Image © National Museums Scotland/ Dress by Jean Muir Ltd).
© All copyrights, ICOM Costume 2023