Alistair Hardaker | Image: The Old Post Office building in Bath, the location of the new Fashion Museum Bath (6a Architects)
Fashion Museum Bath and Bath Spa University announce five-year partnership to develop Explore the Collection digital platform with 3D capture.a
Fashion Museum Bath and Bath Spa University have announced a five-year partnership to develop a digital platform providing access to the museum’s fashion collection.
The collaboration, running from 2026 to 2030, will support the digitisation of 80,000 objects, including at least 600 captured in 3D, alongside catalogue records, multimedia content and tools for learning and creative exploration.
At the centre of the programme is the joint development of the museum’s digital platform, Explore the Collection. The free-to-access resource will bring together research-led digital content and community co-creation.
The project builds on a prototype online catalogue launched earlier this year, which features all 500 pieces from the museum’s Dress of the Year Collection.
The partnership combines Fashion Museum Bath’s curatorial, exhibition, engagement and museum expertise with Bath Spa University’s strengths in fashion, creative technology, digital production, photography, design, architecture, sustainability and inclusive practice.
The programme will create opportunities for young people, students and communities across Bath and North East Somerset. It will support undergraduate and postgraduate research, with opportunities for project-based learning and future PhD study. Community engagement will focus on working with young people, underrepresented groups and communities with lower educational attainment across Bath and the wider region.
Councillor Paul Roper, cabinet member for economic and cultural sustainable development at Bath and North East Somerset Council, said: “Explore the Collection will open up one of the world’s finest fashion collections to everyone, wherever they live, while creating valuable skills and opportunities here in Bath. As we prepare for the Fashion Museum’s reopening in 2030, this project ensures our heritage is not only preserved but shared in new, dynamic, and inclusive ways.”
Delivery of the programme will take place across five years, beginning with research and feasibility work, followed by cataloguing, content development and platform build. A beta launch of Explore the Collection is planned for late 2029, with the public launch aligned to the reopening of Fashion Museum Bath in 2030.
