The Manchester Bomb in 1996 is often viewed from a macro perspective as the catalyst for re-development and modernisation and consequently as having a positive influence on the city. This project provides a space to reflect on how the event impacted on individuals within the independent fashion sector. It dares to consider the possibility that potential green shoots of creative entrepreneurialism were swept aside and lost.

Manchester has a rich and varied cultural relationship with fashion and textile manufacturing. In 1996 there was a thriving independent fashion design community, many of whom traded from shops in the Royal Exchange the Corn Exchange buildings. The bomb had an immediate and far reaching impact on this community. An exhibition will explore this historical event through the constructed narratives of three Manchester designers and their experiences of 1996 and the months immediately after. This will be contrasted by photographic images from members of the Manchester Fashion Institute, looking back to the summer of 1996 with reflections on how their lives have changed in regards to regeneration and
the impending devolution.

Two events will be scheduled; the first will be within the exhibition space at Hollings faculty to engage staff participation, the second will be for the consumption of the general public to provoke dialogues about Manchester’s fashion heritage past, present and future. Visitors to the exhibition will be encouraged to respond to the exhibition and these responses will be recorded on video for future exploration of the public’s perception of Manchester’s independent fashion community before and after the bomb.

(Event dates to be confirmed).