We live surrounded by material things. Some are mundane and utilitarian, others exotic objects of desire, but all our belongings have something to say about who we are and how we live. Objects reflect both culture and history. Individually and collectively, they shape our lives, link us to others and connect us to the past. Yet objects are often strangely absent from accounts of past lives. This seminar series aims to unpack some of the stories that objects can tell about the present and about the past. We also hope to provide a forum for discussion for those of us interested in material histories. We aim to cast the net widely, with no limitations on either time or space.

First Speaker
Playing with Barbie: Youth fashion and child’s play in the 1960s
with Dr Pauling Hastings

Mattel’s Barbie doll launched in Australia in 1964, a time of unprecedented growth in the youth fashion market. Dubbed “The Teenage Fashion Model Doll,” Barbie modelled teenage lived experience and aspirations to children, challenging traditional images of postwar femininity and motherhood. For Barbie, fashion enabled possibility. Through her expanding fashionable wardrobe, Barbie reinforced new ideas on sartorial style, fun and alternative women’s roles.

Dr Pauline Hastings is a Professional Historian and independent scholar. Her work on Australia’s postwar manufacturing, marketing and consumption of fashion and textiles connects the material to broader histories of society, culture and the economy.

Second Speaker
Fashioning Australian wool: the Wool Fashion Awards and Woolmark in Australia’s 1960s
with Dr Lorinda Cramer

Australian wool stood a fashion crossroads in the 1960s. On the one hand, exciting new synthetic fibres linked with modernity and youth culture had electrified the clothing market. On the other, initiatives directly focused on regaining wool’s footing strengthened. This included the Wool Fashion Awards that had launched the previous decade and the introduction of the Woolmark symbol in Australia in 1966. Both extended wool’s appeal for Australian consumers by creating a glamorous, fashionable and high-quality image for the natural fibre.

Dr Lorinda Cramer is a lecturer in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies at Deakin University. Her work explores the worn and material histories of Australian wool, the gendered dimensions of dress and textiles, and historical examples of sustainable fashion and waste in museum collections.

Material Histories is presented by Old Treasury Building in partnership with Deakin University and Australian Catholic University.

Logos from the Old Treasury Building, Deakin University and Australian Catholic University.