Irresistible symposium: Lee Talbot, Curator at The George Washington University Museum

Speaking at our upcoming online symposium, Irresistible, Lee Talbot is a Curator of Textile Museum Collections at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum in Washington DC. He joined The Textile Museum in 2007, specialising in the history of East Asian textiles. Lee has curated almost twenty exhibitions at the museum, most recently Irresistible: The Global Patterns of Ikat (2024) and Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway (2022). Recent publications include the chapter “Ikat in Japan” in Global Ikat: Roots and Routes of a Textile Technique (2023) and “Scholarly Discourses on Fashion Change in Late Joseon” in Dress History of Korea: Critical Perspectives on Primary Sources (2023). Lee was previously curator at the Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, Korea. 

Image above: Young adult’s robe, Uzbekistan, 1870s. The Textile Museum Collection 2005.36.144. The Megalli Collection.

At Irresistible, Lee Talbot will present on Kasuri: The Origins and Development of a Japanese Resist-Dyeing Technique, examining how Japanese dyers and weavers have created one of the world’s most sophisticated and diverse traditions of ikat, known locally as kasuri, a technique in which yarns are selectively bound and dyed before weaving in order to create a pattern in the finished cloth. Kasuri appears in a variety of forms and contexts, from resplendent costumes worn by courtiers and actors to sturdy work clothes for farmers and fishermen.


This colourfully illustrated talk will trace the origins and historical development of kasuri while highlighting the rich variety of kasuri traditions in Japan. The talk will explore how kasuri dyers and weavers have achieved global recognition for their meticulous planning and execution, ongoing technical experimentation, and mastery of materials including cotton, silk, and various bast fibers. Technical and stylistic innovations have helped to maintain kasuri’s relevance and economic viability over several centuries, and time-consuming methods of hand weaving and dyeing continue alongside mechanised factory production in present-day Japan.

Lee Talbot will be speaking at our upcoming online symposium, Irresistible, on Saturday 8 June. Book your ticket here.