A cultural historian, I study how dress and fashion, across cultures, geographies and histories, shape social cohesion, and how they might drive positive social change, exploring fashion as storytelling, social learning and decision-making.

I explore fashion as storytelling, as social learning and as decision-making: the stories people tell through what they wear, how social norms are passed on, negotiated and challenged through dress, and how these processes shape the choices communities make. I see history as a dynamic force in people’s lives that informs their values and behaviours, and it is especially visible in material culture. My aim is to prompt critical reflection on the role of storytelling and culture in sustaining action on the global challenges the fashion industry poses.

I am currently Reader in Fashion Narratives within Manchester Fashion Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University.