Material Movement: Experimental Plaid and Painted Warp—A Practice-Based Response to Letty Esherick’s Vest

• Sophia Gupman, Apparel Design, University of Delaware

• Kelly Cobb, Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies, University of Delaware

This research initiative centers on the close material and conceptual study of a handwoven wool and linen vest attributed to Letty Nofer Esherick (1889–1975), an underrecognized American maker whose creative practice intersected weaving, healing movement, and color theory. I explored the vest through object-based research, design analysis, speculative design, eco-materiality, and creative interpretation, engaging a range of interdisciplinary frameworks including Bauhaus color theory, Steiner’s anthroposophy, and material culture studies. Reconstructed pattern drafts, annotated sketches, color analyses, and interpretive prototypes were created as data collection with contextual reviews drawing from modern garments, historical textiles, current museum exhibitions, and Esherick’s work. One of the research results is an experimental design that reimagines the vest in new textiles and techniques. I developed a handwoven textile through complex woven structures and hand-painted yarns. The design draws inspiration from Esherick’s personal history with feelings of frustration and love for creating. It helps to contextualize Letty Nofer Esherick within the history of design and textiles. The project demonstrates how historical garments can catalyze interdisciplinary innovation and coexistence between fields. It seeks to animate how garments serve as living texts—linking gesture, emotion, design logic, and cultural identity—and to generate both scholarly insights and creative outputs from this inquiry.