Friday 24/05/2025

Research England has awarded the University of Westminster just over £167,000 to support the Westminster Menswear Archive (WMA). First launched in 2015, the WMA is the world’s only publicly accessible menswear archive and is directed by CREAM’s Prof. Andrew Groves, together with archivist and curator, Dr. Danielle Sprecher. 

The award recognises the Westminster Menswear Archive’s outstanding contribution to national and international research, as well as innovative collections-based teaching and learning, digital engagement, and public programmes.

The Higher Education Museums, Galleries and Collections Fund provides funding support to higher education museums, galleries and collections so they can meet the costs of serving the wider research community beyond their own institutions.

In 2023, a review took place to determine the funding levels from academic year 2024 to 2025 onwards. Higher education museums and galleries were invited to apply for funding in early 2023, with applications assessed by an independent expert review panel.

Andrew Groves, Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive, said: 

“We are incredibly grateful to Research England for recognising the quality of the Westminster Menswear Archive and the services we deliver through this funding award.

The funding will enable us to improve our digital systems, providing better access to our collections and allowing us to better serve the wider research community beyond our own institution.  

I’d like to thank our colleagues from the university’s Library and Archive Service for their ongoing support of the archive, which this funding recognises.”

Danielle Sprecher, Curator of the Westminster Menswear Archive, said: 

“We are delighted to have been awarded funding to enable us to develop a variety of relevant digital open access resources for the Westminster Menswear Archive building on our significant physical collection.”

In 2022-23 the WMA had over 340 general enquiries, and 93 in-person visits by external professionals, academics, and industry representatives. These included researchers and curators from V&A Dundee, Museum of London, Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam, MoMu Antwerp, the Design Museum London, and Manchester Art Gallery.

While in the same period, the WMA had over 330 external visitors from Higher Education institutions including from the following institutions: Manchester Metropolitan University, Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion, University of Brighton, Kingston University, Royal College of Art, University of Manchester, New York University, Nottingham Trent University, Oslo National Academy of Arts, and Sheffield Hallam University.