When fabric is propaganda

Can fabrics be propaganda tools? It's one of the questions that design historian Amber Butchart seems to want to answer in this original exhibition that tells the story of propaganda fabrics printed over the course of over two centuries of history. From the French Revolution to Brexit, this exhibition tells how designers and fabric producers responded to the historical, political and social upheavals of their time and how starting from the mid-eighteenth century, thanks to mechanization, the textile industries actively participated in the events of history, allowing governments, regimes and businesses to harness the power of the press to communicate, from wartime slogans to revolutionary ideals. On display will be textiles from different countries including Britain, America, Italy, Germany and Austria, ranging from French toile de Jouy to Japanese robes from the Asia-Pacific War, and Cultural Revolution-era Chinese fabrics which have rarely before been exhibited in the UK. Through this exhibition, it will be possible to discover how textiles have been used as a political tool both in the home and on the body, through furniture and fashion, across the entire political spectrum, from communism, to fascism, to democracy.