In 1988, the Journal of Design History published a short position paper on Textile Collections in British higher education institutions (Clarke, 1988:73), which acknowledged idiosyncrasies with collections, including the rationale for purpose, use, formation and whether collections were actively sought or donated. Clarke (1988) concludes by making a case for funding to support care and management. In the thirty-five years since Clark's text, some of the collections referred to have enhanced care and access, and the sector has welcomed new collections. Archives and collections are essential to ensure the preservation and protection of fashion and textiles heritage to question and learn from the past, uncover and disseminate hidden histories, and prompt debate surrounding current issues. This panel brings together fashion and textile researchers and educators to explore the value of UK-based fashion and textile collections to higher education, industry, society and other stakeholders. The discussion will centre on similarities and differences in location, acquisition, content, access, funding and use between the fashion and textile collections experienced by the panel. Distinct from museum collections or company archives, we will identify challenges and opportunities for working with these teaching collections. The panel will share initial investigations to map fashion and textile higher education collections in the UK and provide insight into follow on activities to form case studies of different collection models and articulate impact beyond the higher education sector.

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