Bernadette Banners

Bernadette Banner is an American historian who specializes in the fabric and clothing used in the past.

Banner first started her research into clothing design when she worked as a costume designer for theatre. Subsequently she has served as a consultant

Banner posts videos to YouTube and Instagram. These include both vlogs summarizing her creation of newly designed clothing, inspired by clothing from the past, constructed using the techniques of the past, and videos that comment upon and criticize the costume design of movies.

In one of her videos Banner buys a knockoff of a historically inspired dress that she constructed using traditional techniques, and then subjects it to a detailed comparison. She knew the modern dress was a knockoff because it was illustrated with an unauthorized screenshot of her wearing her finished dress, from.

Banner is critical of the throwaway esthetic of modern clothing manufacture. The knockoff of her work that she analyzed was made from synthetic fabric and was intended to be worn for Halloween, or a costume party - so worn once, and then thrown away. She noted that traditional fabrics, like cotton, wool, silk, linen, would not become toxic waste in a landfill, even if they were thrown out, and could be put to other uses when they were too worn to be used as clothing.

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