Vintage fashion: The women's sportswear designs that never left the starting block

As women and girls were rarely the focus of sportswear manufacturers, they had to either borrow or adapt existing menswear, go without, or invent it themselves. However, as the archived patents reveal, their inventions rarely made it past the design phase.

Dr Kat Jungnickel, of Goldsmiths, University of London, who led the Politics of Patents project, said: “Clothes patent archives are a veritable treasure trove of inventiveness.

“We’ve unearthed hundreds of clothing inventions for and by women for all kinds of sports and activities.

“They reveal the extraordinarily ingenious ways that women have challenged the status quo to do what they’ve loved while forging the path for future generations.”

As inventors had to work around social and political restrictions, these designs often had to do more than one thing. The team reconstructed five patents – one for each decade of the period of research.

The items included a skirt that converts for city, country and touring cycling and a skirt that turns into breeches for horse riding.

They also made two more skirts, with one converting into an all-in-one aviator costume and one that becomes a cloak for mountain climbers.

Hull-born pioneering English pilot Amy Johnson, Dr Jungnickel notes in her research paper, Convertible, multiple and hidden: The inventive lives of women’s sport and activewear 1890–1940, was one of a number of female pilots whose accomplishments were often shadowed by what they wore. She was the first woman to complete a solo flight from England to Australia, yet her appearance and clothing were continually referred to. “Because nothing appropriate existed in women’s conventional clothing, they had to constantly improvise and compromise with men’s wear,” writes Dr Jungnickel.

The team also recreated a garment for travellers to go tobogganing, cycling and hiking.

As they were unable to access surviving clothing, the team used a method called “Speculative Sewing” to reconstruct the five items. Each piece was then put to the test for a week by the Adventure Syndicate and Mór Diversity consultancy.

The two organisations hold brands and governments to account for their equity, diversity and inclusion policies. They also inspire and encourage participation in sports and activities for everyone.

The week consisted of outdoor activities that comprised running, hiking, climbing, cycling, swimming, hunting and horse riding in Scotland’s Cairngorms. Those experiences were turned into a short film called Women On The Move.

Lee Craigie, a former professional mountain biker and founder of The Adventure Syndicate, said: “The Adventure Syndicate came from an idea that we could set up an organisation that presented alternative sporting role models that weren’t about what you looked like, but how you performed and how you felt.”

Aneela McKenna, founding partner of Mòr Diversity Consultancy, added: “At Mòr Diversity, we’re committed to inclusive practices where everyone can contribute and participate and share diverse perspectives, new ideas and fresh thinking.

“What I love about the inventions in this research and film is how creative people were in dealing with the challenges they faced. We can learn a lot from them, as there’s still much to do.

“There are still many who believe that women and girls shouldn’t take risks or do things that put them in difficulty. But I can’t thank those inventors enough for what they must have put themselves through to get us to where we are today.”

The Politics of Patents project explored 200 years of clothing inventions from 1820 to 2020.

Delving into 120 million publicly available open-access patents from the European Patent Organisation revealed information about inventors, their lives and the problems that concerned them.

Alice Lemkes from The Adventure Syndicate said: “What has been so brilliant about our involvement with this project has been the opportunity to place ourselves in a lineage of brave, creative women who have been challenging the patriarchy and trailblazing change in extraordinary and very ordinary ways, and who will have felt that special feeling of being awesome with other women for hundreds of years.

“The chance to be a part of this research, and to literally, materially, step into the past and walk with our foremothers was something we couldn’t and wouldn’t pass up.”

Dr Jungnickel added: “Women and girls have always been sporty and active, but they’ve had to work around significant barriers to their freedom of movement.

“In addition to being hampered by negative social attitudes, even when women carved out ways to participate in sports, they rarely had appropriate things to wear because they have seldom been the focus of sportswear manufacturers.

“So, we looked for stories hidden from history, hidden in the archive, and hidden in the garment itself and we were amazed by the results.”

*Find our more about the project and the film at www.politicsofpatents.org

Women’s sporting events highlights for 2023

Cricket: Women’s Ashes (June 22-July 18): For the first time, a women’s Test will be held over five days, with Trent Bridge hosting the series opener, with stops at Edgbaston, Lord’s and The Oval.

Football: Women’s World Cup (July 20-August 20): Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses head Down Under for the biggest women’s football tournament ever seen set to conclude in Sydney.

Netball: World Cup (July 28-August 6): The tournament heads to Cape Town, a centre of women’s sport this year, which becomes the first African city to host the event.

Golf: Solheim Cup (September 22-24): Both Europe and the US have new captains in Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis.

• See new M&S SS23 styles and look inside the new Marks and Spencer White Rose Leeds