Dr Morolake Dairo
Lecturer
I am a creative professional with experience in education, marketing communications and fashion. I teach a number of units at BSc and MSc level in Fashion Marketing and Fashion Business. My area of specialism is the African creative industries (especially the fashion industry) and its intersection with other aspects of society and culture. I have a PhD from the School of Media and Communications, Pan-Atlantic University in 2021 focused on “Branding Cities: Investigating the Positioning of Lagos State as a Fashion Capital.”
In earlier years, I established and managed a Nigerian fashion brand, Sisi Jhara (that incorporated the use of locally produced fabric- Adire) before venturing into the professional space and building a career as a brand and marketing professional across various industries including FINTECH, Oil and Gas and FMCG.
I am enthusistatic about shaping the future of fashion education and research at Manchester Fashion Institute with students and my colleagues.
Outside the academia space, I can often be found sewing, doodling, thrifting and reading books.
Academic and professional qualifications
- PhD in Media and Communication
- MSc in Media and Communication (Brand and Marketing Communications)
- BSc in Mass Communication (Advertising and Branding)
- Research Leadership for Emerging Researcher’s Programme (BCU)
- Star Guest facilitator, during the Author AID course “Research Writing in the Social Sciences” (April -May 2020)
- PGCE LTHE (In view)
Languages
English, Yoruba and French (A2 level)
Membership of professional associations
Fellow (FHEA)
Undergraduate teaching
Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Postgraduate teaching
Marketing & Society
Postgraduate research supervision
Currently supervising Master’s thesis projects and actively seeking to supervise doctoral students with research interests in consumer behavior, marketing, fashion studies, and place branding.
Press and media appearances or contributions
Dairo, M. (2023) Before Buying That Aso-Ebi, Consider Your Pocket. Available at: https://www.bellanaija.com/2023/03/morolake-dairo-buying-aso-ebi/
Dairo, M. (2019). What Colour is Your Dress When You Say “I Do”?. Available at: https://www.bellanaija.com/2019/08/morolake-dairo-wedding-gown-or-not/
Dairo, M. (2019). Managing Relationships and the other Side of a PhD. Available at: https://www.bellanaija.com/2019/02/morolake-dairo-phd-relationships/
Research
Research Interests
My research interests explore fashion cultures in emerging economies in Africa and how they interact with other elements such as identity, history, economic growth, place branding and popular culture.
- African Fashion Cities and Place Branding (Nations, cities)
- Creative Industries (Fashion, Film & Music)
- Upcoming Digital Fashion Narratives in Africa
Invited Papers
Some of my research papers include;
- Dairo, M. (2024). Fashion and Motherhood at War: A Costume Analysis of the Movie, The Zookeeper’s Wife. – Book chapter approved for a book-themed Fashion and Motherhood (Bloomsbury Publication). Awaiting publication.
- Dairo, M. (2023). “Nigerian University Dress Codes: Markers of Tradition, Morality and Aspiration.” Journal of African Cultural Studies, Taylor & Francis. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13696815.2023.2237912
- Dairo, M. (2022). “User-Generated Content (UGC) and Fashion Media: A Study of Asoebibella in Nigeria.” Fashion Studies, Vol, 4 (2). Available at: https://www.fashionstudies.ca/user-generated-content
- Dairo, M. (2021). “The City in Literature: The Image of Lagos City in Lagos Noir.” Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Sports. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7176/JTHS/59-01
Conference organisation
- Dairo, M. (2023). ”Discussant for the book, “Engaging A History of Textiles and Fashion in the Twentieth Century Yoruba World by Mutiat Oladejo.” (from the 7th Annual Lagos Studies Association, 20 - 24 June, 2023)
- Dairo, M. (2023). “Unraveling the Threads of the Biafran War: Costume Analysis in the Movie, Half of a Yellow Sun”(from the Text & Textile Symposium, 20 - 21 April, 2023)
- Dairo, M. (2021). ”Communicating Social Identity through Clothing: The Aso-ebi Culture in Yorubaland” (from the 5th Lagos Studies Association, 24 June 2021).
- Dairo, M. (2020). “User Generated Content (UGC) and Fashion Media: A Study of Asoebibella” (from the Conference Fashion, Body and Culture International Conference at the London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, 30 January 2020).
Book Chapters
Dairo, M., 2024. 'Fashion and Motherhood at War: A Costume Analysis of The Zookeeper's Wife'. In Fashion and Motherhood Image, Material, Identity, Bloomsbury Publishing.
Journal Articles
Dairo, M., 2023. 'Nigerian University Dress Codes: Markers of Tradition, Morality and Aspiration', Journal of African Cultural Studies, 35 (3), pp. 345-352.
, 2022. 'User-Generated Content (UGC) and Fashion Media: A Study of Asoebibella in Nigeria', Fashion Studies, 4 (1).
, 2021. 'The City in Literature: The Image of Lagos City in Lagos Noir', Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Sports.
, 2021. 'Digital Cities: Investigating the Image of Lagos as a Fashion City Online Through Web Search Queries', New Media and Mass Communication.
, 2021. 'The Role of Indigenous Films in Preserving Nigerian Culture: Analysis of Efunsetan Aniwura', Journal of Culture, Society and Development.
Office Location
Cavendish South
Manchester Fashion Institute
Manchester Metropolitan University
Cavendish Street
Manchester M15 6BG