Last weekend I went to London to go and see the ‘Knitwear: Chanel to Westwood’ exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles museum. Personally knitwear isn’t something which I would normally be interested in but from going to the exhibit I feel like I have a much better understanding of the impact of knitwear on fashion.

The collection begins with a room which contains modern and innovative knitwear, such as nike ‘flyknit’ trainers and exaggerated high end knitwear. It then went on to display a journey through the years of knitwear and how it has evolved and it’s role has changed. I find it very interesting how people in the past wore knitted garments as a necessity and also had knitted underwear yet nowadays we have designers experimenting with new, creative ways of wearing knit. It was very interesting to see how around the 20s/30s designers began to experiment with knitted swimwear. The pieces in the collection were very thick and heavy, therefor I doubt it would reappear in modern fashion due to its practicality.

     

Although there was a vast array of practical knitwear there was also some examples of innovative pieces spread throughout the years. The styles were very obvious of their respective eras. The progression whilst walking through the exhibition helped to create a feel of a journey through time. The layout of one room started in the 1900s and each section moved on through the decades all the way through to the present day. You could start to see a reoccurring pattern of styles and techniques which was interesting because it shows that new styles will always take inspiration from the past.