Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive

Andrew Groves is Professor of Fashion Design at the University of Westminster, UK, and the Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive which he established in 2016. It houses over 2500 examples of some of the most significant menswear garments and is used daily by industry and students to inform their design practice.Danielle Sprecher is the curator of the Westminster Menswear Archive at the University of Westminster, UK. She is a historian with a focus on men’s clothing and fashion and has worked as a curator of historic dress and textile collections for museums in the United Kingdom.

When I met Andrew for the first time in 2017, he told me he wanted to set up the archive, and it was the first time I had heard about a fashion school taking that approach to design education, offering their students the chance to work the same as my father did. It’s a game-changing way to form and shape new designers and develop an alternative way of working. I’m very humbled that Andrew was inspired by my father’s archive, and I’m grateful that he is offering this unprecedented opportunity to a new generation of designers.

• ForewordsLorenzo Osti, President, C.P. CompanyJonathan Faiers, Professor of Fashion Thinking, University of Southampton, UKDr Samuel Ross, Artistic Director, Founder - A-COLD-WALL*Introduction1. Capes2. Camouflage3. Black Jackets4. Travel5. Underwear6. Armour7. Worn8. Flight Jacket9. Sportswear10. Blue Jeans11. Technology12. CeremonialIn Conversation with Mark C. O'Flaherty: The Future of the Westminster Menswear Archive Company AppendixNotesSelected Bibliography