Textiles have been closely connected to the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) since it opened in 1845 and GSA’s Archives and Collections house a wealth of items relating to the School, its buildings, activities and personnel. Alumni, Fraser Taylor, donated the research collection at the centre of this paper; which comprises fabrics, garments, sketchbooks, drawings, works on paper, press cuttings, promotional material, publications and magazines. Between 1977-1981, Taylor and fellow student David Band studied printed textiles at GSA and went on to study at the Royal College of Art (1981-1983). For their graduate show, Taylor and Band, together with fellow students Helen Manning and Brian Bolger formed a collective, The Cloth (1983-1987). The ethos of this group differed from design practice at the time as they operated collectively as opposed to compete against each other for work. The Cloth was an instant success and existed for four years. During this time, they worked for clients including Betty Jackson, Paul Smith, Yves Saint Laurent and Calvin Klein. Under The Cloth label, they created clothing and worked on projects for visual display, set design, interior textiles, packaging and book cover design. Artwork for record sleeves was created for artists and bands including Altered Images, Spandau Ballet, Aztec Camera and Joan Armatrading. The Cloth’s interdisciplinary working, between textiles, fashion, painting, graphics and music made them a feature of 1980’s popular culture. This paper will describe The Cloth & Fraser Taylor Collection alongside discussion surrounding initial research examining pedagogy, creativity and subcultural networks.

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