Talk, illustrated with slides, by Dr Patricia L. Baker, lecturer and author of 'Islamic Textiles' (British Museum Press):

Dress has always been considered as important in the Islamic Middle East, publicly demonstrating the wearer's social status, profession and religious affiliation. To discard a certain colour or a form of headwear and to adopt others showed that the wearer had changed his religious and/or political allegiance. Frequently social unrest in the urban centres would result in the government issuing directives regarding clothing in the belief that order would be automatically restored if conventional clothing was reassumed. We explore some of the debates concerning dress worn in Iran in the 19th and 20th century, and assess the way dress has been used in recent years to support the current regime.