Fabrics of Memory

Abstract

This article seeks to further examination of clothing with respect to associated experience and memory. The focus is the historical and personal narrative of one sweater worn by a young Canadian, Leonard McCann (1927-2015), in a Japanese internment camp during WWII. Tracing the travel of the sweater from Canada via the Red Cross to Manila, increases awareness of the potential significance of apparently mundane items of clothing. The manner in which such items can contain or embody memory, beginning at the time of their making, enables study of one moment within a broader history of clothing. The story of McCann’s sweater moreover enables investigation of the connection between clothing and trauma. Indeed, it is hoped that this study can stimulate further consideration of the curation of such clothing so that the value of seemingly ordinary garments becomes established in the discourse of fashion theory and history. Relating both the familiar look of the sweater and the narratives attaching to it, reveals a sense of living memory that also permits understanding of complex socio-political conditions. Perhaps this approach can augment empathetic as well as critical praxis in the discipline.

Keywords:

• material history
• trauma
• narrative
• memory
• sweater
• knit

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In a similar vein, this stark contrast can also be viewed as an “express[ion of] the intensity of what [McCann and his peers] lived through a deliberate lack of effect” (Wallerstein, 1998, 135). Here, we pull our reference from an article analyzing thinness and fashion advertisements. However, the theme of expressing intense, difficult experience through the body and/or fashion provides possible correlations when we consider the contrast between the experience of someone who has lived through the horrors of war and long-lasting physical and psychological effects.

2 This date is according to Ivan Sayers’ conversation with Leonard McCann.

3 Recent fashions have had elements of austerity styles from WWII, for instance the natures of the sleeves, shoulders and cut of dresses worn by the Duchess of Cambridge, recalling the type of clothing worn by the Queen Mother, particularly in combination with her choice of geometric hats. The royal children also wear clothing that is reminiscent of styles worn by children during WWII. Perhaps this is an effort to avoid an appearance of ostentation. Other aspects of current fashion trends include pre-ripped jeans, sweatshirts, t-shirts and, the embrace of secondhand or “vintage” clothing, suggestive not only of the type of moderation and prudence involved in times of trouble but, literally, the idea of clothing as war or “wore”-torn.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emma Windsor-Liscombe

Emma Windsor-Liscombe is an artist and writer living in London, England. She is focused on the research and exploration of trauma, addiction, and nostalgia, through painting, writing, and material study. Her research interests include women's narratives, both personal and mythic; the clothing of traumatic experience and nostalgia; and the study of clothing as a material symbol, that can carry personal and collective memory and narrative. In 2023 she graduated from the Royal College of Art, MA Painting. [email protected] Special Thanks to Ivan Sayers.