FATE: Unique Material Culture Collaboration Brings together the Arts and Social Sciences
British Afro-Caribbean T-shirt, manufactured machine knit, hand-screenprinted with images of Ras Tafari Makonnen/Haile Selassie, made in London, United Kingdom (1970s-1980s). (Photo by FATE® Fashion And Textiles Education Archive Resource, London, United Kingdom)
ANN ARBOR–A new, publicly accessible dataset now provides unprecedented access to data on the material culture of clothing and textiles from 1700 to 2019 across all seven continents.
The release of the data from an innovative project called “The Material Culture: Clothing and Textiles Metadata: Practices and Methods for the Arts and Sciences, Global, 1700-2024,” is a significant milestone in the study of fashion, design, and cultural history, providing an extensive resource that illuminates the intricate relationships between clothing, society, and culture over three centuries.
Hosted by the ICPSR at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR), this dataset marks the first public application of the FATE (Fashion And Textiles Education) Archive Resource metadata. Data users will discover material culture studies in both visual and video formats, and a comprehensive and dynamic perspective on the evolution of textiles and fashion design worldwide.
“ICPSR is pleased to share the first material culture, clothing, and textiles dataset in visual and video format. This data collection holds unique possibilities for social scientists and the public,” said Amy Pienta, Research Professor and Director of Business and Collection Development at ICPSR.
Research project leader Clare S. Culik-Spencer, Co-founder of the Fashion And Textiles Education Archive Resource, emphasized the importance of this data release. “It continues to be an exceptional opportunity to expand social and behavioral research with the first dataset of material culture, clothing and textiles in visual and video format released on the ICPSR repository, the world's largest Political and Social research database,” Culik-Spencer said. “This will aid in understanding not only history and design, but the exact connections and uses in the social and behavioral sciences.”
The dataset features 14 case studies representing the rich ethnographic diversity of global fashion, selected through stratified sampling from the FATE Archive Resource in London, UK. Utilizing digital photographs and top-view video demonstrations, it illustrates how textiles and garments are worn and used, offering insights into their cultural significance and historical context.
This resource not only enriches traditional historical and cultural studies but also paves the way for new interdisciplinary research in the social and behavioral sciences. This dataset enables further exploration of the dynamic narrative of human fashion and textiles, ensuring its availability for future generations of researchers and enthusiasts alike.
Special thanks to the FATE research team:
Principal Investigator:
Clare S. Culik-Spencer, M.A., B.A., Co-founder of FATE (c) Fashion And Textiles Education Archive Resource, London, UK; University of the Arts London: Central Saint Martins, UK; University of California, Davis, U.S.A.
Assistant Researchers:
Elaine Man, MA, B.A., FATE (c) Fashion And Textiles Education Archive Resource, London, UK.
Lana Shchadey, B.A., FATE (c) Fashion And Textiles Education Archive Resource, London, UK. Royal College of Art, London, UK.
Alex Secilmis, M.A., B.A., FATE (c) Fashion And Textiles Education Archive Resource, London, UK.
Marnix Steenackers, B.A., FATE (c) Fashion And Textiles Education Archive Resource, London, UK. University of the Arts London: Central Saint Martins, UK.
For more information:
- Fashion And Textiles Education (FATE) Project
- Explore the Data: Material Culture: Clothing and Textiles Metadata: Practices and Methods for the Arts and Sciences, Global, 1700-2024 (ICPSR 39257)
Contact: Dory Knight-Ingram
Feb 13, 2025