TEXTILES: THE ART OF MANKIND

Fashion and Textile Museum, London Until 7 September

DON’T LET THE REGRESSIVE and somewhat baffling title of this exhibition – Textiles: The Art of Mankind – put you off. Despite it, the content is very much a celebration of textiles created and used by humankind across the globe.

First, the exhibition poses the hypothetical scenario of ‘What if there were no textiles?’, which given our deep entanglement with the need and desire to make objects, decorate them with meaningful patterns and symbols, and use them for survival, is a mind-boggling concept. Before we get to textiles imbued with beauty and cultural identity, visitors are encouraged to think of all the activities where we have used ropes, reins, yurts, tents and baskets since ancient times, and the numerous activities impossible without them.

A small room celebrates the needle, seemingly a humble object, but again where would we be without it? The oldest is an animal bone needle dating back about 70,000 years, found in South Africa. The first with an eyelet is 25,000 years old. All thread carrying devices descend from the needle and its evolution is vast, from knitting needles to use in clocks, record players and life-saving surgery. While the role of needles and textile techniques is to bind or attach, the resulting object or garment serves the same function, linking the wearer or user to a family group, clan, stage of life or religion. We read textiles like a language; a wedding dress is instantly recognisable as just that.