Free learning resources from arts, cultural and heritage organisations.

Teachers' Notes

Resource created by M&S Archive.

 
This resource is intended to provide a broad picture of fashion design, using selected images from the M&S Archive collection. The overall aim of the Fashion related resources is to show changing fashions through M&S history, changes in products over time and how this links to wider social history and world events.
 

Curriculum Links

  • KS3 Geography: Use of natural resources.
  • KS3 Design & Technology: Designing and Making 
  • KS2 PSHE:  Living in the Wider World
  • KS3 PSHE: Health and Wellbeing
 

Learning Objectives

  • Understanding how advances in technology affected the production, sale and availability of school uniform throughout Britain
  • Knowledge of the style of advertising M&S used to create and capture the ‘new’ teenage fashion market
  • Skills of comparing and contrasting commonly accepted ideas about schoolwear over time.

Discussion and Activity Ideas

KS3 Citizenship: 

  • Do you think pupils should wear school uniform or not?
  • List your arguments for and against wearing school uniform.
  • Look at the 1992 schoolwear advert. What do you think is meant by school shoes being a 'bone of contention between youngsters and parents'?
    • Who do you think should decide what pupils wear at school - teachers, parents or children? 

KS3 Geography - Recycling:

  • Do you own any clothing that is made from recycled material? How else are you 'doing your bit' for the environment? 

KS3 Literacy/KS3 English: 

  • Look at the 1968 Back to School magazine spread (see Resources) then read the full text in the PDF download. 
  • Who do you think the advert is aimed at, and why?
    • Think about the use of language - who is the writer trying to persuade and how do they achieve this?
  • Choose a small section of the text and rewrite it, but this time aim the language at schoolchildren instead of adults. 

KS3 PSHE: 

  • Look at the Junior Miss fashion advert from 1967.  What do you think is meant by ' the very special tastes...of the in-betweens'? 
  • What do you think are the good points and bad points of being a teenager? 
  • How would you describe teenage fashion today?

KS3 Design & Technology: 

  • Imagine you are designing a new school bag for mass production. Make a list of all the things you have to consider before deciding on which materials to use and how it should look.
  • Look at the different schoolwear images  and use the schoolwear timeline, ·       then design a current school uniform using design elements from the archive sources. 
    • How will your uniform be environmentally sustainable?
    • How will you make sure that it is tough enough to last?