Matilda Aspinall was born and educated in London. After starting a degree in fine art at Goldsmiths College, she realized her interest was more textile orientated with a particular interest in historic dress. After leaving Goldsmiths she furthered this interest by learning pattern cutting and sewing skills. This culminated in an intensive two-year course in costume realization (the making and crafting of historic dress). She studied for a Masters in Fashion Curation at London College of Fashion where here she was able to focus specifically on historic dress. Through the constant observation and handling of garments she observed the lengthy life span of many of these pieces, often being repaired and adapted over generations.
For her PhD research, she is questioning how we can use certain historical refashioning techniques within the contemporary clothing industry to find alternative ways of making fashionable clothing more sustainable.
Previously, she owned a business making bespoke shirts for women. Currently, she is the senior researcher within a textile conservation studio and is in the process of setting up her own label making a range women’s shirts using waste stream fabric from a bespoke shirt makers in Saville Row.
