material matters: textile knowledge, sustainability and fashion futures in ireland

Textiles sit at the heart of fashion, yet the knowledge embedded in cloth, fibres, dyes, techniques, and the labour of making, is often overlooked in conversations about the future of the fashion industry. 

This lecture by Dr Lyndsey McDougall explores how textile knowledge, both historical and contemporary, can offer vital insights for more sustainable approaches to fashion.

Drawing on examples from Irish textile history alongside contemporary practice, the talk considers how makers, designers and communities have worked with local materials, natural dyes and traditional techniques to create garments and textiles that carry cultural memory as well as material value. 

From the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement to present-day initiatives focused on local fibre and sustainable production, textiles reveal a long history of material awareness and environmental responsibility. Responding to themes emerging from our Ashes to Fashion exhibition, the lecture reflects on how textile practices, including repair, mending and reuse, can challenge cycles of fast consumption and encourage deeper relationships with the materials that shape our everyday lives.