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Throughout the Cloth Cultures podcasts, fashion historian Amber Butchart explores movement, migration and making through cloth, speaking to artists, historians, makers, and scientists to shed light on our textile history.

Season 3 out now!

Cloth Cultures – Season 3 – Ep 7

Amber Butchart talks to artists Christine Borland and Eva Sajovic about everything from feminism to fustian. Both Christine and Eva are exhibiting at the British Textile Biennial in the area around Pendle Hill in Lancashire, notorious today for the Pendle witch trials in the early 17th century that saw 10 people executed for witchcraft. They explore the status, power and identity of women in early modern europe, and the changes brought about by the interconnectedness of the industrial revolution, capitalism and the colonial project, through to AI and its use in contemporary art.

Cloth Cultures – Season 3 – Ep 6

Amber Butchart talks to researcher Dr Mila Burcikova of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and artist Rebecca Chesney. Tune in for discussions on fashion, agriculture, and regenerative potentials, festival textile waste, and the fashion seasons vs the actual seasons. As well as art and bees, and tending our wardrobes in the same way we would tend our gardens.

Cloth Cultures – Season 3 – Ep 5

Amber Butchart is joined by artists Victoria Udondian and Ibukun Baldwin, both of whom are creating incredible collaborative pieces for the British Textile Biennial this year. Tune in for discussions on migration, clothing and economic empowerment as well as the power of clothing and textiles in storytelling.

Cloth Cultures – Season 3 – Ep 4

Amber Butchart talks to artists Nick Jordan and Jacob Cartwright, poet Emily Oldfield and English Heritage historian Andrew Hann. They discuss Larksong – a collaborative work by Nick and Jacob for this year’s British Textile Biennial which was a joint commission with English Heritage, and takes place at the nonconformist place of worship, Goodshaw Chapel in Rossendale. Tune in to hear about how hand loom weavers built the chapel, the connection between the land, music and poetry, the Larks of Dean, inspiration from the pre-industrial landscape and the history of the space.

Cloth Cultures – Season 3 – Ep 3

Amber Butchart talks to artist Hendrickje Schimmel (Tenant of Culture), and Cottonopolis Collective researchers Arianna Tozzi and Ali Browne. They discuss their work for the British Textile Biennial this year, which includes investigation of pollution and the environmental impact of the textile industries, the problems with unchecked consumer culture, the life cycles of garments, and the intersections of cotton, science and agriculture.

Cloth Cultures – Season 3 – Ep 2

Amber Butchart is joined by curators Uthra Rajgopal, Ligaya Salazar and Vancci Wahn who are each curating a group show for the British Textile Biennial this year. They discuss the practice of curating textiles, including themes such as indigeneity, craft practices, regenerative knowledge, and sustainability and labour.

Cloth Cultures: Season 3 – Ep 1

Amber Butchart is joined by artists Jeremy Hutchison, and Sunny Dolat of the Nest Collective. They discuss one of the major themes of the British Textile Biennial this year: textile waste imperialism. It’s a deep dive into how the trade in secondhand clothes from the Global North is mapped directly onto previous colonial routes and relationships, reproducing those same inequalities.

Cloth Cultures: Season 1 – Ep 1 – Silk 1

Featuring Rachel Midgeley, Curator at The Gawthorpe Textile Collection and Design Historian Sarah Cheang

Cloth Cultures: Season 1 – Ep 2 – Silk 2

Featuring Biologist and writer Arathi Prasad and Physician and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Paul Blanc.

Cloth Cultures: Season 1 – Ep 3 – Linen 1

Featuring Dr Anna Garnett, Curator for the Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology and Fiona McKelvie of McBurney and Black, specialists in Irish Linen.

Cloth Cultures: Season 1 – Ep 4 – Linen 2

Featuring Alison Toplis, research fellow at Wolverhampton University and author of The Hidden History of the Smock Frock and Justine Aldersey-Williams from North West England Fibre Shed and collaborator in the Homegrown/Homespun project.

Cloth Cultures: Season 1 – Ep 5 – Wool 1

Featuring writer and knitter Esther Rutter and Textile Artist Raisa Kabir.

Cloth Cultures: Season 1 – Ep 6 – Wool 2

Featuring  Sally Tuckett, Lecturer in Dress and Textile Histories at University of Glasgow and Teleica Kirkland, Lecturer in Cultural and Historical Studies at London College of Fashion and founder, primary researcher, Founder and Creative Director for the Costume Institute of the African Diaspora.

Cloth Cultures: Season 1 – Ep 7 – Cotton 1

Featuring Gillian Berry, Manager at The Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington and artist and Professor of Contemporary Art, Lubaina Himid.

Cloth Cultures: Season 1 – Ep 8 – Cotton 2

Featuring Bharti Parmar, Artist and Academic and Tiwirayi Ndoro Fashion Photographer and Stylist.