Mining Couture

Mining Couture: A Manifesto for Common Wear is a collaborative art project between the artists Barber Swindells and Leicestershire County Council’s Snibston Discovery Museum, exploring the relationship between coal mining and fashion and its surprisingly rich cultural history. Featuring essays, interviews and discussions, illustrated with photographs, maps, video stills and more, Mining Couture is a unique study that merges history, fashion art and contemporary life. Delving into the notion of ‘common wear’ and focusing on its social context, the book is brought to life through first-hand written recollections by miners and industry workers, including an interview with the 1972 National Coal Queen Margaret Dominiak, alongside participation with contemporary artists and curators.