Sporting chances
As women’s sport continues to thrive, new research has recreated sportswear that female pioneers were denied, but which might have made active life much easier. By Alex Clifford and Stephanie Smith.
ALOST generation of designer sports gear that women never got to wear has been uncovered. Patented between the 1890s and 1940s, the activewear was designed in an age where women were often marginalised from sport. As women and girls were rarely the focus of sportswear manufacturers, they had to either borrow or adapt existing menswear, go without, or invent it themselves. However, as the archived patents reveal, their inventions rarely made it past the design phase.
Dr Kat Jungnickel, of Goldsmiths, University of London, who led the Politics of Patents project, said: “Clothes patent archives are a veritable treasure trove of inventiveness.
“We’ve unearthed hundreds of clothing inventions for and by women for all kinds of sports and activities.
“They reveal the extraordinarily ingenious ways that women have challenged the status quo to do what they’ve loved while forging the path for future generations.”
As inventors had to work around social and political restrictions, these designs often had to do more than one thing. The team reconstructed five patents – one for each decade of the period of research.
The items included a skirt that converts for city, country and touring cycling and a skirt that turns into breeches for horse riding.
They also made two more skirts, with one converting into an all-in-one aviator costume and one that becomes a cloak for mountain climbers.
Hull-born pioneering English pilot Amy Johnson, Dr Jungnickel notes in her research paper, Convertible, multiple and hidden: The inventive lives of women’s sport and activewear 1890–1940, was one of a number of female pilots whose accomplishments were often shadowed by what they wore.
She was the first woman to complete a solo flight from England to Australia, yet her appearance and clothing were continually referred to. “Because nothing appropriate existed in women’s conventional clothing, they had to constantly improvise and compromise with men’s wear,” writes Dr Jungnickel.
The team also recreated a garment for travellers to go tobogganing, cycling and hiking.
As they were unable to access surviving clothing, the team used a method called “Speculative Sewing” to reconstruct the five items. Each piece was then put to the test for a week by the Adventure Syndicate and Mór Diversity consultancy.
The two organisations hold brands and governments to account for their equity, diversity and inclusion policies. They also inspire and encourage participation in sports and activities for everyone.
The week consisted of outdoor ac