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PEOPLEKatFebruary 20, 2020January 24, 2023

PEOPLE

POP PEOPLE

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

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Poet, writer, ethnographer of futures, and interdisciplinary senior lecturer in energy and society in the School of Geosciences

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Senior lecturer, Department of Design Faculty of Arts
Artist and senior lecturer, School of Arts and Communication

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Lecturer in queer history and cultural historian of sexualities and the queer past focusing on twentieth-century Britain

PAST POP TEAM

POP has been in and out of libraries and archives

POP has been in and out of libraries and archives lately. Lots of writing, editing and planning underway. We’re back in the POPLab from Feb and have lots of activities in the diary for 2023. We look forward to showing, sharing and inviting lots of people into costumes and into the research in the coming year.

ID: stack of books on topics such as the history of pockets, toilets, shopping, sport, menstruation and more!

POP recently travelled to Utrecht to collaborate w

POP recently travelled to Utrecht to collaborate with COPIMs @hardlyjules and theatre/sound maker @nahuelcano2 on an experimental music piece where we set out to listen to the patent archive.

Together with voice artist @margovandelinde and sewer Emme Hoette we made a score from the research for sample, voice and sewing machines.

The piece was based on 1903 patent by Scottish milliner Martha Gowans who invented a pocket (made of 5 pockets) for women working in retail, factory and office settings.

It was exciting to see and hear the research emerging from different media. See the POPblog (link above) for more about our translation from patent > calico toile > sewing pattern > musical score.

We are looking forward to sharing the short film made by Juan Fernández Gebauer. Many thanks to everyone invoked and to @hethuisutrecht for the lovely space to work

#creativecollaboration #practiceresearch #inventivemethods #speculativesewing #patents #inventions #sewing

It’s a wrap! 29 garments done! More pics later (

It’s a wrap! 29 garments done! More pics later (because SO many amazing inventive things happened). Thankyou to the dream team (sorry you couldn’t stay for drinks @ellenfowles) ⚡️⚡️🔥🎉 (also classic academia - using coffee cups for bubbles 🤣)

Here’s a taster of our afternoon. All the costum

Here’s a taster of our afternoon. All the costumes looked ⚡️⚡️ and the inflatable 1857 hoop skirt worked! (Well enough for the shoot anyhow.) Gorgeous and generous modelling by @tita.1981 @geo_kalivis @dorcasstories @wadsworth_tom @ellenfowles

#inflatablehoop #historicdress #research #speculativesewing #documentation #researchmethods

POP photo shoot session one is done. Thanks so muc

POP photo shoot session one is done. Thanks so much to Silvia, Hennie and Meara. So far we’ve documented 9 inventions from bustles with secret pockets to mountaineering convertible skirt/cloaks and from 1900 swimsuits to milliner chatelaines. We’re excited by how good it all looks. @geo_kalivis and @katjungnickel and Britt Hatzius are organising, dressing, directing and photographing like a well oiled machine 🔧.

#photography #documentation #researchmethods #inventions #toiles #speculativesewing

An epic day with a dream team! POP are finishing a

An epic day with a dream team! POP are finishing a busy October by finalising and photographing our (current) collection of research patent toiles. More to come but we’re starting to document a #Speculative #Sewing #Archive (SSA for short). We’ve prepared about 30 garments ready to shoot tomorrow on the bodies of 10 willing volunteers.

Most are convertible, multiple or secret inventions in some super clever way so there are many bits and pieces to keep track of!

Today was all about setting up the POPLab, fixing, finalising and adding lots of fasteners to the garments, labelling, organising, ironing (SO much ironing!), prepping the props, practising how stuff works and getting everything ready.

Huge thanks to the POP dream team photographer Britt Hatzius, @aliceeangus, @geo_kalivis (and of course lots of recent toile making by @ellenfowles and Julia S)

ID:
1. Britt smiles to camera as she irons a calico toile
2. Kat sits on the floor hoping that she is pinning glued bicycle tubes that will hold air into the seams of an 1857 hoop skirt invention 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
3. George runs through the patent planning papers piled on a table for dressing volunteers tomorrow
4. Britt stands behind a camera on a tripod
5. Alice sits at a desk in front of a sewing machine adding finishing touches to a bustle
6. Kat stands near a railing with one batch of labelled and ironed calico toiles ready for the first photography session tomorrow (the rest are on hangars out of sight)

#speculativesewing #research #practiceresearch #toiles #sewing #makingthingstomakethings

We’re attempting to make an inflatable hoop skir

We’re attempting to make an inflatable hoop skirt. It’s a challenge! It’s an invention by Helen Traphagen in 1857. She explains how “the purpose of expanding the surface of the skirt” was to give a look “similar to that effected by the use of hoops, cords and other devices”.

The air-filled system was much lighter, more flexible, and adaptable to different sizes. This made it cheaper and more comfortable to wear for lengths of time. Plus the wearer could sit more easily. Traphagen also points out how “it can be folded and packed up in a small space when not in use”.

All up it’s a pretty interesting invention….though we’ve been reading stories about it deflating at all the wrong times…

This is definitely a creative challenge as we’ve been using a lot of bicycle inner tubes- cutting and gluing them together to achieve a larger hoop skirt circumference. We’re in the middle of a lot of messy experimentation. The major challenge lies in making it all air-tight and pinning and sewing the elongated tubes into the skirt seams without stabbing the rubber 😬

ID:
1. 1857 illustration of a woman being dressed in an inflatable hoop skirt
2. Pantent illustration of a hoop skirt
3/4. POP studio table with sewing and bicycle inner tube tools and bits and pieces
5. Wider pic of a messy studio with material and bike pump on the floor

#hoopskirt #inflatable #womenshistory #invention #researchmethods

Todays #PatentofTheWeek is an 1896 “Improved Cyc

Todays #PatentofTheWeek is an 1896 “Improved Cycling Skirt” by Agnes Henderson, a dressmaker, originally from Fife, Scotland, living and working in Melbourne, Australia. This invention was designed for walking, city cycling, country cycling and cycle touring. A series of cords hoist it up out of the way of the wheels - uniquely it offers various heights for different activities and types of bikes, both ladies step-through machines and also for wearers wanting to ride a diamond frame bike (which was more of a men’s bike at the time). Henderson’s invention was one of the convertible costumes recently worn by the @adventuresynd for our upcoming historic activewear film.

This post shows some of our #speculativesewing process - how we stitch theory, methods & practice into 3D arguments. After researching about Henderson, the time period and for anything we could find about her invention in archives and drawing all over the patent itself these pics & video show initial paper and calico toiles made on a small scale model. This multi-material multi-dimensional process is really useful to work things out - especially when there are multiple hanging cords (inside and out), anchor points and our first experience of technical tassels!

ID: 9 images and a video of a small desktop dress form with a calico skirt pinned on it in various convertible configurations

#tasseltechnology #invention #patent #cyclewear #calico #toile #womenshistory #workingthingsout #makingthingstomakesenseofthings #practiceresearch #creativemethods

Lots of activity, people and messy fun in the POPl

Lots of activity, people and messy fun in the POPlab this week. We’re finishing and finalising our current collection of toiles (practice pieces in calico). Kat was working on big sculptural bloomers with unique fitted waist detail, Ellen on chatelaines, Alice on pockets and George is helping plan an upcoming photo shoot (more on this soon).

ID:
1,2,3. Pics of Kat wearing big calico bloomers back, side and front view
4. Alice figures out a pocket invention from a patent
5. Ellen demonstrates an invention to George while Alice sews at a table
6. Close up of Ellen showing workings of a chatelaine for warming hands, carrying personal items, hot drink and snacks

#inventions #toiles #sewing #research #bloomers #socialscience #historicresearch #clothes #patents

One of the aims of the POP + @adventuresynd collab

One of the aims of the POP + @adventuresynd collaboration was to try out our handmade collection of 1890-1940s historic convertible active wear inventions in all kinds of sport. We did mountain biking, hiking, shooting, swimming, football, tree climbing, horse riding + + + much more. And we were all pretty amazed at how well they all worked 💪🏼🏃‍♀️🏇🏽🏊🏼‍♀️🚴🏼‍♀️🧗🏽‍♂️🤸🏼‍♀️🤾🏼‍♀️

ID:
1. A woman speeds blurry fast along a mountain bike trail. Nearby is a man with a camera
2. A group of women stand with bikes on a forest trail
3. Two women hike along a mountain trail
4. Three women stand on a mountain trail admiring the epic views
5. A woman expertly rides a horse (for the first time 💪🏼)
6. Three women cross a stream

#dresshistory #inventions #clothes #womenshistory #womeninventors #research #sewing #sportswear #historicsportswear #activewear #justdoit

We made 5 historic sporting costumes for the POP +

We made 5 historic sporting costumes for the POP + TAS collaboration to dress @leecraigie_ @lemkiss & @philippabattye from @adventuresynd and Aneela McKenna of @gowherescotlandmtb and POP’s @katjungnickel. Each invention comes from a different era – 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s, 1930s. And the inventors are from UK, DE, US, AU and patented in these places as well as FR, CA. Their inventions are for #walking, #cycling, #hiking, #mountaineering, #tobogganing, #hunting, #fishing, #travelling, #flying, #camping. And all convert in some amazing way from #sports to social wear.

The neon colours relate to the time period. Each colour = decade. Blue, green, yellow, orange + pink are used to highlight the inventions in each costume. This is a deliberate act on our part and contrasts in some cases with inventor intentions. Many of the inventors are very specific about concealing their convertible elements - the aim being to hide the invention in plain sight. But we want to do the opposite, for visual and political reasons- to really draw attention to the inventors and their inventions rendered invisible in our historical accounts and the stories we tell and to raise questions about what has changed over time and what hasn’t.

ID: Black and white drawings of 5 costumes on a piece of paper with highlighted elements drawn on them and material cuttings for each piece stapled underneath.

#convertible #research #speculativesewing #inventions #inventors #sportswear #activewear #patent #reconstructions #creativemethods #womenshistory

POP are very excited to be collaborating with the

POP are very excited to be collaborating with the @adventuresynd and @gowherescotlandmtb to make a film about historic women’s activewear from the patent archives.

We’ve been running, jumping, hiking, cycling, flying, horse-riding, kicking, catching, throwing, leaping and otherwise putting these amazing inventions through their paces in the Scottish hills in all the weathers.

We’ll be sharing more of the activities and happenings here and on the POPblog (link above) until the film comes out early 2023.

ID:
1. Four women huddle together on a hilltop from icy windy rain
2. Five people walk along a path towards mountains with atmospheric skies above
3. Five women stand in green bushes looking cold as they’re about to jump into an icy raging river (you can see this in the pic, have to use your imagination).
4. Skirted women play pool in a fancy wood panelled room with stag skulls mounted on the walls
5. Behind the scenes shot of bloomer-ed women in modern warm wet weather jackets walk along a path
6. A man with a camera films a woman near a horse
7. A woman reveals a bottle of whiskey in a bloomer pocket
8. A woman sits in the cockpit of a small plane
9. Two women in lots of clothes ungainly attempt to climb a gate while one woman in voluminous bloomers jumps it easily

#erc_research #inventions #activewear #research #speculativesewing #adventure #clothing #dashingtweeds #badlybehavedwomen #womenintrousers

Today’s #PatentOfTheWeek is from France in 1909

Today’s #PatentOfTheWeek is from France in 1909 by Costume Manufacturer Yetta Friend. She notes that “the invention consists of a contrivance on both sides of the skirt, which dispenses with the necessity, on the part of ladies, of carrying bags and purses or reticules.” It enabled women to be independent, active and do things handsfree when out in public.

When reconstructing this as a toile, Kat had a great time working out the double secret pockets that are trapped within the waistband centre front. They are easily reachable to the wearer, yet disguised from onlookers. Yetta goes on to mention the instances for use of her invention when “walking, riding, cycling or playing any game of sport.”

We have been looking at and recreating an exciting collection of transforming activewear skirt patents over the past couple of months.

Image Description:

1. A black line drawing on a white background of a long A-line skirt with a pocket at the front, with a more detailed drawing of the pocket opening on the right.
2. A photograph of Kat smiling and wearing a black t-shirt and a calico toile of the pocket skirt.
3. A detailed photograph of a calico skirt waistband, with a pocket underneath on a dress form.

#PoliticsOfPatents #Toile #Patent #Reconstruction #Calico #Pockets #SkirtPocket #HiddenPocket #YettaFriend

Fixings and fastenings. Inventors are sometimes ve

Fixings and fastenings. Inventors are sometimes very specific about the technologies to use to join parts of their clothes together. Other times they’re all a bit - “use whatever is best”. Because we’re making a lot of convertible and modular inventions, they tend to have an impressive range of fastenings, on show and cleverly concealed. We’re using a lot! For eg: buttons, snaps, hooks and eyes, eyelets, adjusters, cords, loops, and there are even few jaunty tassels.

ID: 1. a range of colourful hand covered material buttons on a table.
2. 3 bright blue tassels on a table next to a pair of scissors

#inventions #fastenings #finishings #sewing #speculativesewing #research

Some of the modular/ convertible pieces in the 189

Some of the modular/ convertible pieces in the 1890-1940s women’s #sportswear collection we are making are pretty unique. This 1900s double-sided cape with its scalloped edging is one of our favourites right now. It’s in reflective tweed on one side (have to use your imagination for that, sorry) and green on the other to highlight the invention and fit with our research colour coding of the time period.

ID: Julia wears a black dress with short shaped cape over her shoulders. It’s in grey tweed on one side and hot green on the other

#research #sportswear #invention #speculativesewing #modular #convertible #patent

Politics Of Patents Follow

Really pleased how our #Speculative #Sewing #Archive photoshoot went yesterday. 29 inventions, 10 models, 8 hrs, a lot of safety pins, biscuits & tea later & we captured just part of the #patent research we’ve been doing at POP. More at https://www.instagram.com/politics_of_patents @SociologyGold

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POP are very excited to be collaborating with @adventuresynd & @GoWhereScotland to make a film about historic women’s inventive & convertible activewear from patent archives. We’ve been trying out 1890-1940s inventions in all the sports and all the weathers! @SociologyGold

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