Research

Research Interests

My research examines fashion, gender, and youth. I am interested in the lived experience of young people and how dress relates to identity formation, but also memories of youth and how youth lives with us through dress and music. I enjoy working collaboratively, across disciplines, using creative methods that position dress as a conduit or method through which new narratives are told. I am an associate member of the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies (MCYS) and co-Iead the F/fashion Narratives research group at Manchester Met.

Academic collaborations

Locating Menswear

Locating Menswear is an AHRC funded international network investigating the cultural and industrial connections between London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Milan, Italy, and how they have influenced the production, display, and consumption of British menswear. It is led by Professor Andrew Groves, Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive (PI) and myself (Co-I), with Dr Danielle Sprecher (WMA), Dr Susan Atkin (Man Met.), Paul Owens (Liverpool John Moores University), C.P. Company, Sevenstore, the British Fashion Council and UKFT.

Portrait Youth

The Portrait Youth project documents the personal and collective identities of youth through portrait photography. The project invites young people from Greater Manchester and beyond to take part in creative ‘wear your identity’ workshops that explore the communication of identity through fashion, styling and dress. Myself and co-founder John Earnshaw have worked with over 100 young people on the project and many collaborators including Zoe Hitchen, the GMCA, Central Library, Manchester Youth Council, Design Manchester, Grange School, Manchester Art Gallery, Amy Gwatkin, Deborah Jump, MCYS, Getting out for Good, Megan Powell, The Proud Trust, Heather Glazzard, Jack Arts, Reclaiming the Narrative, The British Muslim Heritage Centre, Fatima Khan, Alice Kettle, Maryam Wahid, Blackburn Youth Zone, C.P. Company, The British Textile Biennial, The Westminster Menswear Archive, Professor Andrew Groves, Neil Bedford, Richard Kelly, Laura Way, Adam Johnson, Following Young Fathers Further, North East Young Dads and Lads (NEYDL), Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.

National Fashion and Business Saturday Club

The Fashion and Business Saturday club at Manchester Metropolitan University was set up in 2015 with support from the British Fashion Council and the National Saturday Club. The club provides an opportunity for 13 -16 year olds to learn about diverse aspects of the fashion industry in a University setting, on a Saturday morning. In 2019 myself and my colleague Kelly Joseph were awarded an IFFTI prize for our research into the positive impact the club had on its members.

Conference organisation

Conference Committee, Futurescan 6, De Montford University (2025)
Conference Chair, Locating Menswear, Manchester Met/Liverpool John Moores University (2024)
Conference Committee, New Research in Dress Histories Conference, Manchester Met. (2023)
Conference Committee, Futurescan 5, University of Leeds (2022)
Conference Committee, IFFTI, Manchester Met. (2019)

Grants

AHRC network bid (Co-I), ‘Locating ‘the Absent Shadow’: Exploring Connections and Encounters in British Menswear’, with Professor Andrew Groves (PI), £34,469, 2022.
ESRC festival of social science exhibition (PI), ‘Portrait Youth: Reclaiming the Narrative’, with Fatima Khan (Co-I), Alice Kettle, John Earnshaw, Maryam Wahid, £1000, 2022.
GMCA/Design Manchester funded exhibition (Co-I), Portrait Youth, with John Earnshaw and Zoë Hitchen, Manchester Central Library, Manchester Youth Council, £3000, 2017.
ESRC festival of social science workshop (Co-I), Identi-Tee, with Hannah Smithson (PI), Zoe Hitchen, Kelly Joseph, Rebecca Neary, MCYS, ESRC, The Childrens Society, £457.84, 2017.