Fashion and Freedom

One of the most radical changes at home during the war was the huge change in women’s lives and work. With the men away fighting, more than one million women went to work for the first time during the war years – in munitions factories and on the buses, driving ambulances and even ‘manning’ the London Underground. These new responsibilities gave women new freedoms – and they also led to a new look, as tight corsets and heavy skirts were replaced by more natural and fluid silhouettes. A century later, this era has inspired ‘Fashion and Freedom’, co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, an ambitious, multi-faceted exhibition that examines the fashion legacy of the First World War for the 21st century. Read more.

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