Face Off: The Provocation and Possibilities of Masks and Head Coverings

13 – 14 January 2021

Symposium Archive

Watch the presentations from Face Off: The Provocation and Possibilities of Masks and Head Coverings Symposium held on 13 and 14 January 2021. The abstracts are also available to download.

Day 1 : Wednesday 13 January Day 2 : Thursday 14 January
Programme and Book of Abstracts

About the event

Day 1 : Wednesday 13 January

Introduction and Welcome

Dr Benjamin Wild and Professor Liz Barnes
Manchester Fashion Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Keynote

Professor Therèsa Winge
Michigan State University, USA
Un/masked: Pulling at the ties that b(l)ind

Panel 1 : Functionality

Chair : Professor Fiona Hackney, MMU, UK

Professor David Tyler
Manchester Fashion Institute, MMU, UK
Face Masks: What makes them fit for purpose?

Doris Domoszlai-Lantner, Independent academic
Sara Emilia Bernat, Independent academic
Disposable Face Masks: Considerations for socially and environmentally sustainable use

Caroline Elenowitz-Hess
Parsons School of Design: The New School, NYC, USA
Medical Masks and ‘Flu’ Veils: Balancing Safety and fashion during the 1918 Pandemic

Panel 2 : Materiality

Chair: Dr Kathryn Brownbridge, MMU, UK

Dr Katrina Jungnickel & Katja May
Goldsmiths, University of London UK
From the Plague Proboscis to Pandemic PPE: Unmasking the inventive socio-histories of face coverings

Professor Fiona Hackney & Katie Jane Hill
Manchester Fashion Institute, MMU, UK
Enacting a Sensibility for Sustainable Clothing: the quiet activism of making face masks

Daniela Dossi
Independent designer, Italy
Hybrid Heads: A decoding method to design open narratives and dynamic identities

Panel 3 : Gender

Chair: Dr Elizabeth Kealy-Morris, MMU, UK

Dr Alison Matthews David & Myriam Couturier
Ryerson University, Canada
Toxic Masculinities: Men, masks and criminality past and present

Professor Andrew Groves & Dr Danielle Sprecher
University of Westminster, UK
Masking Masculinity: An overview of the mask in menswear before and after Covid-19

Panel 4 : Performativity

Chair: Dr Sophie Wood, Regents University, UK

Colleen Hill
Museum at FIT, USA
Fill in the Blank: Masking at Maison Martin Margiela

Ksneia Gusarova
Russia State University, Russia
Cracked enamel: the materiality of nineteenth-century make-up

Dr Sian Bonnell
Manchester Fashion Institute, MMU, UK
Hiding in Plain Sight: Women, Play and Empowerment: Some ludic aspects of masks and head coverings

Remarks & Discussion: Dr Benjamin Wild, MMU, UK

Wednesday Evening Event

Photographer Phyllis Galembo in conversation with Dr Benjamin Wild

Day 2 : Thursday 14 January

Keynote

Dr Barbara Brownie
University of Hertfordshire, UK
Facing the Abyss

Panel 5 : Costume

Chair: Dr Benjamin Wild, MMU, UK

Sabrina Recoules Quang
Royal College of Art, UK
Material experience through masks

Linda Kvitkina
Independent academic, Russia
Head Coverings in Ballet: Concealing the real person

Dr Jonathan Spangler
Manchester Fashion Institute, MMU, UK
Hats off to you: altering social positions through the use of masks and head coverings

Panel 6 : Cultural Memory

Chair: Dr Jonathan Spangler, MMU, UK

Dr Elizabeth Kealy-Morris
Manchester Fashion Institute, MMU, UK
Who is the sick one here?: Mask refusal and ambivalent social identity in COVID America

Professor Catherine Fletcher
Manchester Fashion Institute, MMU, UK
The Masks of Alessandro de’ Medici: Conflict, race and fancy dress in early modern Italy

Dr Luisina Silva Blanc
Independent academic, Italy
Title of Paper: Hiding Under the Tapada Limeña

Panel 7: Virtuality

Chair: Dr Paddy Lonergan, MMU, UK

Professor Elif Kavakci
University of Arizona, USA
The Legacy of Kavakci’s Headscarf Revisited in the Age of Social Media

Dr Maria Skivko
Samara National Research University, Russia
From digital to physical protection: Hiding the true face with facial mask

Closing Remarks & Discussion

Dr Ben & Dr Elizabeth Kealy-Morris
Manchester Fashion Institute, MMU, UK

Thursday Evening Event

Artist Volker Hermes in conversation with Dr Benjamin Wild

Symposium programme and abstracts

You can view and download the Symposium’s programme and book of abstracts using the links provided below:

Download Programme Book of Abstracts