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The Library of Congress Asian Division, as part of the “Fashion at the Library” series, will be hosting a virtual discussion on August 13th (3:00PM-4:30PM EST) “From South Asia to the American South: A Discussion about the History and Trade of Seersucker" (Library of Congress).
Ever wonder how a lightweight fabric from India became the ultimate uniform for Southern summers? To mark one of the final Seersucker Thursdays of 2026, Dr. Giorgio Riello and Dr. Prasannan Parthasarathi will come together for a conversation about the historical trade of the famous cloth, from its place of origin in India, to the American South, where it has become a part of the Southern dress code.
For those unable to attend, this talk will be recorded and posted on the Asian Division's website and the Library's Youtube page shortly after the event.
Giorgio Riello is Professor of Early Modern Global History at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy and Professor of Global History and Culture at the University of Warwick, UK (currently on secondment). He has published widely on the material exchange between Europe and Asia in the early modern period. Among his books Cotton: The Fabric that Made the Modern World (2013), Luxury: A Rich History (2016), and the forthcoming In Times of Wealth (2027). He co-edited with Prasannan Parthasarathi a book entitled The Spinning World (2009).
Prasannan Parthasarathi is Professor of History at Boston College. He is the author of The Transition to a Colonial Economy: Weavers, Merchants and Kings in South India, 1720-1800 (Cambridge, 2001), The Spinning World: A Global History of Cotton Textiles (Oxford, 2009), and Why Europe Grew Rich and Asia Did Not: Global Economic Divergence 1600-1850 (Cambridge, 2011). He is now working on a study of agriculture and the environment in nineteenth-century South India.
Contact Information
Charlotte Giles
South Asia Specialist, Library of Congress
chgi@loc.gov
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