LCF Special Collections
LCF Special Collections contain rare, historical and contemporary publications covering fashion, costume and related subjects.
Highlights include:
Historical fashion journals
LCF Special Collections absorbed historical collections from the Cordwainers Technical College and the Tailor & Cutter Academy and continues to add to these in the present day. Our collection contains journals from all areas of the fashion industry. Notable items include:
André. New York: André Fashion Studios
Maker Up. London: United Trade Press
The Master Tailor and Cutters Gazette. Liverpool; London: John Allen: Richd. Taylor
L'Officiel de la couleur des textiles et des industries de la mode. Paris: Société des Editions de "L'Officiel de la Couleur"
Printed books
LCF Special Collections holds historical books dating back to the early 19th century covering all aspects of fashion and costume. Highlights from the collection include the Tailor and Cutter tailoring manuals from the 19th century and shoe making manuals from the original Cordwainers Technical College.
Visionaires
LCF Special Collections holds the Visionaire publication, the fashion magazine that is a hybrid of journal, book and art object.
Discover Visionaires on Library Search
Artists’ books
We hold a range of beautifully crafted artists’ books based on or inspired by fashion in its broadest sense. This small collection dates from 2010 and highlights of our Artists’ Books collection include:
Anansi Tales by Hormazd Narielwalla and Cuttings by Annie Collinge and Sarah May.
Zines collection
A collection of fashion zines covering the subjects of clothes, gender, body politics, sociology of clothes and queer theory.
Katharine Hamnett Sustainable Fashion Archive
The Katharine Hamnett Sustainable Fashion Archive comprises of over 1000 sustainable textile samples, which were collected over a period of 2 decades and donated to the library in 2013. These samples include cotton, hemp, linen, silk, wool, recycled polyester, recycled plastics, and blends.
Discover the Katherine Hamnett Sustainable Fashion Archive
Rave Ephemera
Our collection of rave ephemera comprises of promotional materials such as flyers, catalogues, club mailing letters and adverts; newspaper articles; photographs; correspondence and writings on and about the rave scene. It was donated to LCF Library in 1996 by Caroline Cox.
Contact Us
For more information about the LCF Special Collections please contact
specialcollections@fashion.arts.ac.uk