Designing Childhood: Clothkits and the intersections of material culture, visual literacy and child-centred design in late twentieth-century children’s clothes
This article examines how the British company Clothkits (1968-1988) reimagined children’s clothing as a medium for learning, creativity and visual literacy. Drawing on archival sources and oral testimonies, it situates Clothkits within the wider transformations of childhood and design culture in pos...
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| Veröffentlicht in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/strenae, |
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| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Sprache: | Anglais |
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Strenae
2026
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| Online Zugang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Zusammenfassung: | This article examines how the British company Clothkits (1968-1988) reimagined children’s clothing as a medium for learning, creativity and visual literacy. Drawing on archival sources and oral testimonies, it situates Clothkits within the wider transformations of childhood and design culture in postwar Britain. The company’s make-it-yourself garments combined bold visual narratives with participatory making, encouraging children to look, imagine and create. By aligning design, play and education, Clothkits offered an early model of child-centred design and embodied values of sustainability and collaboration. This study positions children’s clothes not as passive adornments but as active pedagogical tools within the material culture of childhood, revealing how textiles can nurture creative engagement and a lasting awareness of making and meaning. |
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