Student-led exhibition that explores how women’s fashion reflected profound social change in the early twentieth century is now open in York.
New Fashions for the New Woman, 1900–1950 is now showing at the Art Gallery in Heslington Hall, University of York, and runs until 31 March 2026.
Featuring more than 80 exhibits, the display examines how changing social expectations, increased financial independence and expanding leisure opportunities influenced the way women dressed, and how the fashion industry responded.
The exhibition is curated by History of Art students under the supervision of Professor Cordula van Wyhe.
Professor Cordula van Wyhe, from the University of York’s Department of History of Art, said: “Central to the exhibition is the emergence of new materials that revolutionised clothing in the early twentieth century. Early synthetic fibres, such as nylon, offered a more affordable alternative to silk, while new plastics, including celluloid and acrylic, enabled lighter, bolder accessories.
“These innovations are shown alongside traditional craft practices that continued to thrive, from velvet and metal-thread fabrics to intricate beadwork, silks and feathers.
“These materials not only transformed everyday wardrobes, but also shaped the glamorous visual language of film and advertising, as they photographed particularly well during the interwar years.”
Visitors can touch various textile samples to experience unusual fabrics literally ‘first-hand’. Together, they illustrate how both industrial experimentation and skilled craftsmanship defined modern fashion in a globalised world.
