RESEARCH
Invisible Men Exhibition, 2019
Andrew Groves’ research is concerned with fashion's material culture and its use as a primary source for research analysis and reinterpretation to generate new knowledge that can be used to inform design processes. The establishment of the Westminster Menswear Archive is central to his research and teaching practice, as it serves as a point of conjunction between academia and industry.
Professor Groves founded the Westminster Menswear Archive in 2016 to establish object research as a central methodology for teaching and understanding material culture and to generate innovative approaches to design practice. The archive purposefully rejects a hierarchy of design, instead proposing a parity of clothing-based objects, interspersing workwear, uniforms, and designer garments, and challenging the orthodoxy of dress collections.
This diversity of objects has made it a critical resource for both industry and students to inform new design research and practice and generate new knowledge about menswear's history, materiality, and social meaning. Researchers from industry include designers from Burberry, Tom Ford, Alexander McQueen, Dunhill, Bottega Veneta, Rapha, Versace, Umbro, and C.P. Company.
The archive houses over 2000 garments including A-COLD-WALL*, Ahluwalia, Aitor Throup, Alexander McQueen, Aquascutum, Austin Reed, Barbour, Belstaff, Berghaus, Blades, BodyMap, Bukta, Burberry, Burton, Craig Green, Gieves, Joe Casely-Hayford, John Stephens, Kim Jones, Lewis Leathers, Liam Hodges, Martine Rose, Meadham Kirchhoff, Michiko Koshino, Mr Fish, Nigel Cabourn, Palace, Paul Smith, Sibling, Tommy Nutter, Umbro, Vexed Generation, and Vivienne Westwood. Additionally, the archive houses an extensive collection of utilitarian and uniform garments worn by members of the British Armed Forces, emergency services, public transportation providers, and various uniformed trades.
RECENT RESEARCH OUTPUTS
Bikkembergs x Umbro 2004
Representing Black British Music in the Westminster Menswear Archive
Groves, Andrew and Sprecher, Danielle 2023. Representing Black British Music in the Westminster Menswear Archive. UoW Annual Black Music Symposium at the British Library. British Library 20 Oct 2023
Invisible Men in Black
Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2023. Invisible Men in Black. ICOM Costume: International Committee for Museums and Collections of Costume, Fashion and Textiles Annual Meeting 2023. National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh 24 - 27 Sep 2023
Tailored by Umbro: Football, fashion and the construction and reconstruction of Englishness through cut, fit, and style
Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2023. Tailored by Umbro: Football, fashion and the construction and reconstruction of Englishness through cut, fit, and style. 2023 British Society of Sport History Conference. Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester 24 - 25 Aug 2023
Locating Menswear – A Non-Hierarchical Exploration of Place and Community.
Groves, Andrew, Sprecher, Danielle, Jenkinson, Jo and Owen, Paul 2023. Locating Menswear – A Non-Hierarchical Exploration of Place and Community. Dress Devolution conference. Falmouth University 06 - 07 Jul 2023
The Repositioning of the Football Jersey from the Pitch to the Runway.
Groves, Andrew and Sprecher, Danielle 2023. The Repositioning of the Football Jersey from the Pitch to the Runway. International Football History Conference . Hampden Park Stadium, Glasgow 30 Jun - 01 Jul 2023
Discarded mask #161, Andrew Groves, 2021
2022
Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive: A case study of garment-research as a pedagogical practice
Groves, Andrew 2022. Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive: A case study of garment-research as a pedagogical practice. IFFTI2022. University of Nottingham 05 - 08 Apr 2022 International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institute
A casual obsession: Inside the British Sock Fetish Council
Groves, A. 2022. A casual obsession: Inside the British Sock Fetish Council. Critical Studies in Men's Fashion. 9 (2), pp. 187-206. https://doi.org/10.1386/csmf_00059_1
Groves, Andrew, Jenkinson, Jo and Earnshaw, John 2022. Through a Lens – A comparison of contested masculine identities as reflected in clothing, place, and portraiture. Futurescan 5: Conscious Communities. The University of Leeds 07 - 08 Sep 2022 Association of Fashion and Textiles Courses.
Clothing the Pandemic: A Virtual Exhibition of COVID-19 Face Masks from Around the World
Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2021. Clothing the Pandemic: A Virtual Exhibition of COVID-19 Face Masks from Around the World. 23 Dec 2021
Groves, Andrew and Sprecher, Danielle 2021. C.P. Library. Darwen Library, Lancashire 01 - 30 Oct 2021
Groves, Andrew 2021. Introduction. in: C.P. Company 971-021: An Informal History of Italian Sportswear Italy Tristate International SA. pp. 13-15
Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19
Groves, Andrew 2021. Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19. London Gallery West 08 - 28 Jun 2021
Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19
Groves Andrew 2021. Undercover – From Necessity to Debris: The Pollution of Face Coverings During COVID-19. https://opensea.io/collection/undercover-from-necessity-to-debris 11 May - 05 Jun 2021
Undercover – From Necessity to Luxury: The Evolution of Face Coverings During COVID-19
Groves Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2021. Undercover – From Necessity to Luxury: The Evolution of Face Coverings During COVID-19. Online 11 May - 05 Jun 2021
Palliative Prototypes or Therapeutic Functionality? Examining C.P. Company’s Urban Protection Collection
Groves, Andrew 2021. Palliative Prototypes or Therapeutic Functionality? Examining C.P. Company’s Urban Protection Collection. Curative Things: Medicine/Fashion/Art. Leeds Arts University - Online 12 Feb 2021 Leeds Arts University.
Masking Masculinity – An overview of the mask in menswear before and after COVID-19
Groves, Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2021. Masking Masculinity – An overview of the mask in menswear before and after COVID-19. Face Off: The Provocation and Possibilities of Face Masks and Head Coverings. Manchester Metropolitan University 13 - 14 Jan 2021 Manchester Metropolitan University.
Undercover: The Migration of Face Coverings During COVID-19
Groves, Andrew and Sprecher, Danielle 2021. Undercover: The Migration of Face Coverings During COVID-19. The Many Faces of Migration: An Interdisciplinary Unconference. online 29 - 30 Apr 2021
In and Out of Fashion - Aligning Education with the International Fashion Calendar
Groves, Andrew 2021. In and Out of Fashion - Aligning Education with the International Fashion Calendar. The Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education. American University of Paris 1 - 2 Oct 2021
Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive
Sprecher, Danielle and Groves, Andrew 2019. Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive. Ambika P3, London 24 Oct - 24 Nov 2019
Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive
Groves Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2019. Invisible Men: An Anthology from the Westminster Menswear Archive., Exhibition Catalogue.
Invisible Men Conference
Groves Andrew and Sprecher, D. 2019. Invisible Men Conference. Ambika P3, London. 29 - 29 Oct 2019
Symposium: The Vanishing Art of Camouflage
Groves, Andrew 2016. Symposium: The Vanishing Art of Camouflage. University of Westminster, London.
The Overworked Body: An Anthology of 2000s Dress Curated by Matthew Linde
Linde, Matthew and Groves, Andrew 2017. The Overworked Body: An Anthology of 2000s Dress Curated by Matthew Linde. Goethe Institut, 38 Ludlow Street New York. 10 Sep - 15 Oct 2017
The Vanishing Art of Camouflage
Groves, Andrew and Leach, Robert 2016. The Vanishing Art of Camouflage. London Gallery West, University of Westminster. 21 October – November 2016,
Groves, Andrew and Leach, Robert 2015. Archetypes. London Gallery West, University of Westminster. 15 May – 14 June 2015.