In the Absence of Dress: Building Knowledge of Dress and Fashion History in the Low Countries Despite Scarce Historical Objects.

While the dress and fashion history of France and England during the early modern period has received significant scholarly attention, there is a gap in research when examining the Golden Age of the Low Countries. Despite the region's significant impact on the development of fashion and dress during this flourishing period of the arts, a lack of preserved historical objects makes it difficult to understand this influence. Often, it is erroneously presumed that the Low Countries simply followed the influences of their occupiers, such as Spain and Austria, or the fashionable French. Therefore, there is a need for independent study on dress from the Low Countries. What was quintessential to the Dutch? Where did Flanders differ? Can these fashions offer insights into the social, economic, and political contexts of the era of global trade?

To explore this topic further, it is necessary to consider alternative methods of research. While written sources and visual arts have been utilized in the past, they have their limitations. Can we utilize the potential of recreative practice and practice-based research? What can patterns tell us?

The goal of this presentation is to address the gap in our knowledge of dress and fashion history in the Low Countries by exploring new methods of research that can help us build a better understanding of the subject, even in the absence of historical objects.