Field to Fashion at the Derby Museum of Making
Field to Fashion at the Museum of Making is a brilliantly curated exhibition, supported by John Smedley, tracing wool from field to fibre to garment. It brings together farmers, makers, students, and industry to reveal the real material journey behind what we wear—and live with.
A particular highlight was the GCSE student brief, developed with John Smedley’s design team. Students were asked to design a wool school jumper, engaging directly with the full supply chain—from fibre to manufacture. A powerful reminder of the complexity, skill, and infrastructure behind something often taken for granted.
Other highlights were Amy Twigger Holroyd, The Art of Slow Fashion, and the wall displaying her Re-knit Revolution, and the continued work of Solid Wool (now with Roger Oates), affirming wool in new material territories.
Within this context, my own project Sheep to Seat, Fleece to Floor (Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 2019) is included in the exhibition—extending the narrative from fashion into interiors. The work explores wool as a circular material system, connecting landscape, craft, and design through local sourcing, collaboration, and material transformation.
Since that solo show at YSP, it’s been encouraging to see the dialogue around wool—and the transparency of its processes—gain real momentum. What was once often hidden is now increasingly shared, tested, and understood across education, industry, and practice.
Field to Fashion traces the journey of British wool from sheep to finished garments, revealing the processes, people, and histories behind everyday clothing. Visitors encounter raw fleece, spinning techniques, and the legacy of makers such as John Smedley, alongside contemporary student and designer work. Within this context, Ella Doran’s Sheep to Seat, Fleece to Floor (YSP, 2019) reappears, extending the narrative from fashion into interiors. Her pieces, textiles, furniture, and woven works, developed through local sourcing and collaboration, demonstrate wool as a circular material system, connecting landscape, craft, and design while foregrounding provenance, material transformation, and the value of British wool.
