The Red Dress

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BSU showcases The Red Dress for Sustainable Fashion Week

From 23-27 September, Bath Spa University’s National Centre for Fashion and Sustainability (NCFS), in partnership with Fashion Roundtable, will host a Flagship Hub for Sustainable Fashion Week at the University’s Locksbrook Campus, and we’re getting ‘dressed’ up for the occasion. 

As part of the festivities, BSU is excited to be hosting The Red Dress, which will be on display in the Michael Pennie Gallery at Locksbrook Campus. Visitors can book free tickets to view the dress throughout the weeklong event, as well as attend an exclusive talk on the project with artist Kirstie Macleod on 24 September. 

British artist Kirstie Macleod conceived of The Red Dress project to provide an artistic platform for individuals around the world – most of them women, and many of whom are vulnerable and live in poverty – to tell their story through embroidery. Contributors include refugees, asylum seekers and survivors of war. Embroidery has also been contributed by visitors at various exhibitions and events. 

From 2009 to 2023, pieces of the Red Dress travelled the globe being continuously embroidered onto. Constructed out of 87 pieces of burgundy silk dupion, the garment has been worked on by 367 women and girls, 11 men and boys and 2 non-binary artists from 51 countries. All 141 commissioned embroiderers were paid for their work, and receive a portion of all ongoing exhibition fees, merchandise, and the opportunity to sell their work through the Red Dress Etsy shop.  

Tamara Parsons-Baker, Executive Project Manager for the NCFS at Bath Spa University, said: 

“We are thrilled to be hosting The Red Dress exhibition as part of our programme of events in partnership with Sustainable Fashion Week. This exhibition not only highlights the importance of identity thought art, but also celebrates the power of art and design in creating a platform for self-expression, storytelling and cultural traditions. I encourage everyone to come and see the mesmerising Red Dress.” 

Dressing for the future

Those who can’t make it to Locksbrook can still see The Red Dress up close and personal by exploring its digital counterpart, thanks to an innovative project led by BSU. 

The Digital Red Dress is a collaboration between BSU and Kirstie Macleod, led by Dr Coral Manton, Senior Lecturer in Creative Computing at the Bath School of Design, with support from Richard Wood and Fred Reed from the School of Art, Film, and Media. The project involved creating a 3D digital reproduction of the Red Dress using innovative 3D scanning techniques, broadening the reach and accessibility of the Red Dress Project to an online audience.  

In a nice example of things coming around full circle, it was Coral who suggested the Red Dress be exhibited at Locksbrook as part of Sustainable Fashion Week. 

The 3D reproduction of the Red Dress aims to allow wider audiences to view it more closely and from different angles, both online and in exhibitions.  

Explaining the project further, Coral said: 

“This digital version would expand access beyond physical displays, helping to spread the project’s message and celebrate the contributors’ work in new and innovative ways.” 

The model was shared on SketchFab, a popular platform for 3D models used by individuals, companies, and institutions like museums and universities. To protect the project’s intellectual propert­­­­y, the model is not available for download, but that hasn’t inhibited the project. 

Talking about the reach and influence it has had, Coral said: 

“Posting it on SketchFab makes the model easily accessible and embeddable on other websites. It has received around 9,000 views, 92 likes, and has been promoted by SketchFab on their social media channels, reaching thousands of subscribers. 

“This type of knowledge exchange project is key to our role as a university acting within a wider creative community. We are able to both share our skills and resources with people who may not otherwise have access and use these opportunities to develop our own knowledge.”  

You can read more about the Digital Red Dress project in Coral’s blog post at Medium. The Red Dress is at BSU’s Locksbrook Campus from 23-27 September, and you can book free tickets online. 

Find out more about the full lineup for Sustainable Fashion Week on their website.