Fiona Kitchman

My research interests lie in the historical development of performance clothing and textiles. This developed during my years of industry practice, through collaborating with mountaineers and climbers to solve garment design issues encountered in challenging environments. My research aims to synthesise this experience as a designer with the knowledge gained engaging with historical artefacts and sources to document how and why these types of garment and textiles have evolved over the last two centuries. Focusing on the clothing worn by female mountaineers, my aim is to achieve a clearer understanding of how they overcame the physical challenges of the environment and the social challenges of a male-dominated society. A paper entitled Women Climbers and Their Clothing was presented at Futurescan 2019, Bolton University.

My research has developed and involves experimenting with the methods of pattern cutting, aiming to discover if period garments were cut and constructed to facilitate movement in active use, and if, functionality and choice of textile was a consideration in the design.