King's College London academic dress designed by Vivienne Westwood

Academic dress of King's College London describes the robes, gowns, and hoods worn by undergraduates, graduates and associates of

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. After being vested the power to award its own degrees from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 2006, graduates began wearing King's College London academic dress in 2008.

History

Prior to 2008, the Academic dress of King's was similar to that of the University of London's which, like most academic dress, is based on medieval attire. Graduates of the

have been formally presented to the Chancellor of the University since 1849, and the first public presentation of the University was held at King's Great Hall in 1850. From 1903 to 1992 this University ceremony was continued in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, and King's first held its own ceremony in 1989. In 1995, the University of London granted some of its constituent colleges the power to confer degrees on behalf of the University. In 2007, in line with the evolution of the University's constituent colleges, King's successfully petitioned the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

for its degree-awarding powers in its own right; these powers were first used in 2008. Such development in securing its own degree-awarding powers brought the need for King's to design its own academic dress. During the transition phase, global fashion icon Dame Vivienne Westwood was approached by

Patricia Rawlings, Baroness Rawlings Patricia Elizabeth Rawlings, Baroness Rawlings (born 27 January 1939) is a Conservative Party politician and former frontbencher in the House of Lords. She was also a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1989 to 1994. She was Chairman of ...

, then Chairperson of

, to design an academic gown of the institution. Working with

Ede & Ravenscroft Ede & Ravenscroft are the oldest tailors in London, established in 1689. They have two London premises, in Chancery Lane and Burlington Gardens, very close to the famous Savile Row. They make, sell and hire out legal gowns and wigs, clerical dr ...

, the producers of the academic dress, the Westwood-designed academic dresses for

have been unveiled in 2008. On the gowns, Vivienne Westwood commented: "Through my reworking of the traditional robe I tried to link the past, the present and the future. We are what we know." The 'new' academic gowns were showcased at the first graduation of summer 2008, where Westwood and former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport,

Lord Smith of Finsbury Christopher Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury, (born 24 July 1951) is a British politician and a peer; a former Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet Minister; and former chairman of the Environment Agency. For the majority of his car ...

were among those wearing the gowns as they received their King's College London Honorary Fellowships.

Features

Westwood-designed academic dress features two long (4') stole-like streamers which serve as gown facings. There is no neckband.

Groves classification system The Groves Classification is a numbering system to enable the shape of any academic gown or hood to be easily described and identified. It was devised by Nicholas Groves to establish a common terminology for hoods and gowns to remedy the situation ...

Westwood's unique but unifying style for King's academic dress is the King's College London lion gold button on each shoulder. Influenced by

's tradition, being the first university in the world to devise a system of academic dress based on faculty colours, the gowns and hoods have been designed with colours that reflect the university's faculties/schools/institutes of study and the level of the degree. Owing to its unique shape, the hood cannot be folded flat. The hood may be made with a neckband but this is strictly for use by clergy who require to wear the hood over a surplice and are not to be used for university ceremonies. The scheme does not provide for a hat, though

mortarboards The square academic cap, graduate cap, cap, mortarboard (because of its similarity in appearance to the mortarboard used by brickmasons to hold mortar) or Oxford cap is an item of academic dress consisting of a horizontal square board fixed upo ...

may be hired for the day or provided for photography (they are not allowed to be worn during graduation ceremonies).

Colours

The King's gowns and hoods have been designed with colours to reflect the academic faculties or schools. * Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine (School of Bioscience Education) - Orange * Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences - Fuchsia * Faculty of Arts & Humanities - Green * Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience - Deep Red * The Dickson Poon School of Law - Silver * Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, GKT School of Medical Education (MBBS) only - Purple * Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care - Lilac * Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences - Coral * Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy - Gold * King's Business School - Teal

First degrees

All hoods and gowns for first degrees are black, lined with a certain colour. Graduates are distinguished by the colour lining of the hood and stole, which denotes the respective Faculty, School or Institute.

Postgraduates

Postgraduate master's level graduates wear black gowns with hood, lined with a certain colour. A colour lining is also present on the sleeves. As with first degree recipients, the Faculty/School/Institute is denoted by the colour. For Master of Philosophy (MPhil), graduates wear a black gown, and a black hood attached to the gown on each shoulder with a King's lion button; the sleeve vents, cape and cowl are bound in blue with the binding extending over the shoulders. For research degree .e., PhD/MD (Res)graduates wear a dark red gown, and a dark red hood attached to the gown on each shoulder with a King's lion button; the sleeve vents, cape and cowl are bound in blue with the binding extending over the shoulders. Using the

, such research graduates wear a King's Full 12shape gown of deep red cloth, with stole of purple silk. The sleeves are held back by purple linings and gold buttons. The hood is lined with fully lined with purple silk. Specialist doctors (EdD/DClinPsy/DHC/DrPS/DthMin) graduates wear a blue gown, and a blue hood attached to the gown on each shoulder with a King's lion button. The sleeve vents, cape and cowl are bound in dark red with the binding extending over the shoulders; a King's Full 12shape gown of deep blue cloth, with stole of red silk. The hood is fully lined with red silk.

Graduating with an Associateship of King's College (AKC)

Students graduating who have also completed the tradition of

Associateship of King's College The Associateship or Associate of King's College (AKC) award was the degree-equivalent qualification of King's College London from 1833. It is the original qualification that King's awarded to its students. In current practice, it is an optional ...

(AKC), will wear as part of their academic gown a black ''

epitoge An epitoge is a garment worn over the left shoulder that sometimes forms part of academic or court dress. Background The epitoge is descended from the chaperon, a mediaeval hat that descended from a cloak with a hood with the head tucked into the ...

'' with a golden embroidery of the university's lion 'Reggie', buttoned to the left shoulder. The

is a short streamer of black fabric that matches the fabric of King's gowns.

Others

PG certificate and diploma recipients wear black gowns with King's Simple hood 12 The various officers of King's wear their official robes, while members of the academe wear the academic dress of the university from which they graduated; such would include that of other universities in the UK as well as around the world.

References

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King's College London