Structuring reconstructions: recognising the advantages of interdisciplinary data in methodical research

Abstract

A theoretical framework for reconstruction as an integrated scholarly research method across a range of disciplines is long overdue. This paper discusses the usefulness of reconstructed textiles and dress as a template for it. It also argues that there is a need to integrate methods from the arts and humanities with analytical techniques from the natural sciences. The aim is to show how interdisciplinary research not only enriches a reconstruction but provides the mechanism through which cross-disciplinary collaboration takes place. Experimental remaking of historical textiles and dress has tended to be undertaken on an ad hoc basis. For reconstruction to be scientific, it must systematically employ soundly researched evidence from a variety of sources. The triangulation of data—well established in natural and social science—rigorously cross references primary evidence using a range of investigative methods. It produces a firm fix on the material under scrutiny and more credible results than those reliant on only one or two sources. The challenge is that different types of evidence demand specialist approaches, including quantitative and qualitative methods, which are not the traditional tools of dress history. Accurate reconstruction also demands interdisciplinary collaboration: the interrogation of fibres at the molecular level; the collection of observational data at the micro level; and the study of how garments were made and worn at the macro level. This calls for new ways of working with integrated methodologies in pragmatic multidisciplinary teams, which include experts from the humanities, sciences and craft.