Beyond fashion: Are textiles an underappreciated art form? 

When you think of textiles, you probably think of the functional, like curtains, carpets, and all that boring stuff - art isn’t likely the first thing that springs to mind. Clothing is a well-known example of textiles as art, being key to our own self-expression through its aesthetic qualities. However, textiles as a medium carry far more artistic significance than just in fashion and are becoming increasingly popular as an art form. 

Textiles are increasingly popular in hobbyist art, for example, thread and yarn-based crafts like crochet and knitting. Crochet has seen a huge resurgence in recent years, particularly after the pandemic, becoming a way to fill the time and create something tangible, for functional or decorative purposes. The nature of the medium allows for it to be easily put down and restarted at any given time, making it a desirable hobby for creatives in the busy modern world. 

There is also a rise in textile presence in gallery exhibitions. Textiles are versatile and malleable, easily manipulated and deconstructed to be rebuilt into new forms, their diverse textures also establishing a multi-layered, tangible and sensory experience for the viewer. These qualities make textiles useful for expressing poignant topics and evoking emotional responses, for example within installation pieces. Artist Nnenna Okore’s works utilise multiple materials such as burlap, fabric, wire and paper to create immersive installations which comment on ecological issues, namely waste. Many of these pieces carry a haunting quality, for example On Land and Beyond, making the experience of viewing somewhat uncomfortable, a discomfort felt not only emotionally, but bodily, due to the artwork’s immersive nature. This makes us confront the artwork’s message with more urgency and thought, Okore inviting us to evaluate modern waste and consumption in a new format. 

Cas Holmes also uses textiles to express human experience and how we interconnect with the wider world through her installation exhibition The Shipping Forecast.  Through suspended fabric strips, combining text, images, embroidery and fabric dyeing, Holmes expresses the human need for ‘home’ and belonging, yet that where we ‘fit’ is liminal and uncertain. 

Whilst textiles are becoming an increasingly popular art form and are increasingly appreciated by the public eye, the extent of their creative potential I think is yet to be fully explored and appreciated on a parity with more ‘traditional’ forms of art. As a versatile medium, there are endless opportunities to utilise textiles more in tandem with other mediums to create out-of-the-box, thought-provoking pieces which push art beyond something just to be viewed – it is also immersive and experienced.