Fashion and Material Culture History
This research group, led by Professor Paula Hohti, focuses on experimental, material-based research in early modern fashion history. It combines a wide range of historical evidence, including archival documents, printed books, visual images and surviving objects, with methods of historical and digital reconstruction, object-based analyses, and hands-on experimentation on historical textile technologies.
Our research centers especially on material and cultural meanings of early modern dress and fashion in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe. The areas of our special interests include:
- Historical and digital reconstruction
- Colours, colour recipes and historical colour reconstruction
- Traditional crafts and textile innovations
- Material experimentation and scientific analysis of historical dress and textiles
- Makers and wearers of fashion, fashion dissemination
- Economic, cultural, social and material meanings of historical dress