India, Oct. 25 -- If one had to draw Jeremy Allen White in The Bear, the apron would be the key element (that and the hair, most likely).

It serves as part armour for him, and part second skin. It has played this role for centuries, indicating femininity, care and a homely meal upcoming. Or, conversely, welders, butchers and mechanics at work.

What else can an apron be?

That's a question that brought two academics together for a three-month residency titled 1:01 Aprons at Chelsea Space at the Chelsea College of Arts (CCA), part of University of the Arts London.

Together, curators Carol Tulloch, a professor of dress, diaspora and transnationalism at CCA, and Judith Clark, a professor of fashion and museology at London College of Fashio...