About this Event
This is a hybrid event. To join online, access tickets here.
This interdisciplinary conversation explores fashion as a form of universal human communication and storytelling. It considers how clothing functions as cultural adaptation and learning, the persistent narratives conveyed through dress, and the disciplinary implications of viewing fashion as a sophisticated language for expressing social, cultural, and individual meanings.
Dr Karina Grömer is director of the Department of Prehistory of the Natural History Museum Vienna. She studied Prehistoric Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology at the University of Vienna in Austria. Habilitation thesis (2019): “Archaeological Textile Research - Technical, economic and social aspects of textile production and clothing from Neolithic to the Early Modern Era”. She specializes in textile analysis, research on textile tools and reconstruction of prehistoric costume. Since 2008 she has been working at the Department of Prehistory of the Natural History Museum Vienna for different international research projects e.g. “DressID - Clothing and Identity in Roman Empire”, “CinBA – Creativity in the Bronze Age” and “Chehrabad Saltmummy & Saltmine Exploration Project”. Her current research focuses on the analysis of textiles from graves, settlements and saltmines, covering a timespan from 2500 BC till 1000 AD and a geographical area from Central Europe to Iran.
Dr Benjamin Wild is Reader in Fashion Narratives and lead of the F/fashion Narratives Research Group at Manchester Metropolitan University. A historian (medievalist), he is interested in the function of stories and the utility of storytelling to spur social responsibility and behaviour change, chiefly within the fashion industry. Recent publications include Hang-Ups: Reflections on the Causes and Consequences of Fashion's 'Western'-Centrism (2024) and Appropriation (2026).
The Talking Through F/fashion seminar series provides a collaborative and intellectually rigorous forum for interdisciplinary researchers to explore how fashion shapes the narratives through which individuals and communities construct their personal and collective identities. These seminars showcase both established and emerging scholarship, encompassing diverse historical periods, geographical contexts, and methodological approaches—from empirical studies to theoretical frameworks and practice-based research. Our goal is to foster international dialogue and partnership among scholars interested in examining and critically engaging with fashion's role in identity formation and storytelling. The seminar is hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University’s .
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Geoffrey Manton Building, Lecture Theatre 5 (GM.LT5), Rosamond Street West, Manchester, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
