The Westminster Menswear Archive just became fashion’s worst kept secret

Though they may be over 200 miles apart, last week north west London and north west England collided, as SEVENSTORE in Liverpool played host to the University of Westminster’s menswear archive. In town for just one night, the London fashion school headed up north for the launch of Inside the Westminster Menswear Archive, a new edition that delves into the history of the university’s unique collection of menswear garments. Written by Professor Andrew Groves and Dr Danielle Sprecher – who manage and curate the archive themselves – the book’s publication marks a watershed moment in the representation of men’s fashion, which can often be excluded from conversations when it comes to archiving and museum-level curation.

To celebrate this moment, writer and editor Thomas Gorton hosted Groves and Sprecher for a special panel talk at SEVENSTORE, with the Westminster leaders also joined by artist and designer Aitor Throup, designer Robyn Lynch and Dazed fashion writer Elliot Hoste – here’s five things we learnt about the Westminster Menswear archive from their conversation.

Though you may not have heard of the Westminster menswear archive until now, the collection was actually founded by Groves and Robert Leach in 2015, and was initially dedicated to the archives of Massimo Osti, founder of both CP Company and Stone Island. The original collection policy of the archive was to “create a collection of garments to encourage and develop the study of menswear design from a technical and functional standpoint; to advance the general knowledge of menswear as a design discipline, and to be used as a resource tool to inform contemporary menswear design.”

According to Groves and Sprecher, the archive was originally put together to offer both students and industry professionals a chance to learn from menswear’s fashion history. “We’re buying in response to demands of students and industry and where fashion is going next,” said Groves at the panel. The professor then told the story of how a quilted gilet in the collection was accessed and studied by a number of high-end and high street brands over the last few years (we’re not naming any names) and jokingly went on to apologise for the influx of quilted gilets to the market. Though it was a funny story, the moment was a prime example of the trickle down effect that the archive can have on the landscape of fashion.

The entire archive does not adhere to a hierarchical approach to documenting culture, which is reflected in how the book is laid out. Inside, graffiti covered overalls are next to a Louis Vuttion jacket, which is also next to a First World War Tunic. “The unique mix of designer fashion, streetwear, everyday dress, sportswear, workwear, and uniforms means the full range of men’s clothing is explored,” said Groves, “and this helps us see the relationship designer clothing has to workwear.”

As well as being non-hierarchical, the archive never discriminates or judges when it comes to different garments. “We have the Greggs collab with Primark, the Lidl trainers, and the McDonalds x Palace collab,” said Groves at the panel talk. “Though on one level funny, it’s also important for capturing this moment, and I doubt the V&A have them.” Groves’ comparison to the V&A is an apt one, because although you might think the point of an archive is to document the “best” of culture, the Westminster Menswear Archive is concerned with taking an accurate and historical snapshot of menswear at that moment.

“I think the rarest garment we have is a Burberry scrub made in 2020 in reaction to COVID-19,” added Groves at the talk. “They were all meant to be burnt after one use, so we imagine hardly any exist.” And as well as this piece, the archive is also home to an unsual High-Viz Burberry jacket from Christopher Bailey’s last collection, a black tunic shirt from Alexander McQueen’s lesser known menswear offering, Vivienne Westwood’s famed Clint Eastwood jacket, and countless others from Gaultier, Stone Island and more.

To delve into everything else the archive has to offer, purchase Inside the Westminster Menswear archive here.