Oral History Project

Marketa Uhlirova was commissioned to develop this oral history project for the 'Museum of London'. Her interviews, with written summaries, were used in the display of a temporary exhibition 'The London Look' and became part of the permanent Oral History collection. The structured interviews were undertaken within the framework of an oral history methodology, in keeping with the museum’s remit as social history museum. With the curators of the temporary exhibition, Uhlirova selected 25 London-based fashion practitioners, educators and members of sub-cultural and consumer groups. The interviews last approximately 2.5 hours and covered the origins, structures, processes, internal relations and overall significance of London fashion. Their incorporation via listening posts in the exhibition received positive reviews. The project maps London fashion and style from the 1940s to the present. It records a diverse range of creative careers and consumer attitudes to fashion in the capital, contributing to an understanding of its specificities. It adds new viewpoints, interpretations and anecdotes to received knowledge, enriching fashion history, at times correcting its myths, and shows how fashion interacts with other cultural forms such as music and art