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Objects of Fashion: Unravelling Stories (Online)
One-day course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Join us as we explore Objects of fashion that hold poignant traces of makers and wearers. Unravelling these embodied clues can reveal stories of the past, provide inspiration for creative works, and generate new knowledge.
Clothing and accessories like gloves, hats, or shoes are some of the most intimate and compelling of all objects of material culture because of their close connection to the body. Poignant traces of the makers and wearers embodied in objects of dress carry information from the past that might otherwise be inaccessible from written accounts. With careful study, patience, creativity and imagination, these clues can be unravelled to tell stories of the past, provide inspiration for creative works, and generate new knowledge. During this study day, we will discuss new developments in the field as well as the joys and challenges of object-based research.
You can also attend this study day in person at V&A South Kensington.
This study day will not be recorded.
For more details on how our courses work, see V&A Academy online questions · V&A.
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
This study day will not be recorded.
For more details on how our courses work, see V&A Academy online questions · V&A.
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
Study Day Leader
Dr. Ingrid Mida
Dr. Ingrid Mida is an art and dress historian and the author of several books published by Bloomsbury including The New Dress Detective (forthcoming 2026) and Reading Fashion in Art (2020). Dr. Mida has lectured on object-based research, fashion and art, as well as on drawing and creativity at universities and museums in North America and Europe.
A truly superb day. Hard to get that sort of education and insight from anyone other than the V&A Previous V&A Academy Course Attendee
Course overview
This study day celebrating object-based research in fashion will be led by Dr. Ingrid Mida, the author of The New Dress Detective(Bloomsbury 2026).
Topics include:
A look at the new published title, The New Dress Detective
Object-based Research and Creative Practice
The Joys and Challenges of Object-based Research in Fashion
…and many more!
Invited speakers include curators Martin Pel and Beatrice Behlan, who will consider object-based research in relation to dress as biography, and artists/academics Dr. Ellen Sampson, Hannah Lamb, and Dr. Sarah Casey, who will discuss their study of objects of dress in relation to creative outputs involving drawing, making, and wearing.
Ready to dive deeper? Take a look at the full course programme by clicking 'download programme' below.
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Being up close with treasured objects from the V&A's collections brings your learning to life. Spend time with our incredible collections, as well as with our expert tutors and your fellow learners.
Enrol now
One-day course: Objects of Fashion: Unravelling Stories (Online)
3 October 2026
£49.00
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
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Header image: Pair of gloves, M or F, 1610-1630, British; leather, embroidered silk gauntlet, silver-gilt bobbin lace ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London