I am a dress historian with degrees in Fashion Design (Central Saint Martins), History of Art (Goldsmiths) and History of Dress (Courtauld Institute).
I am the author of several books including 100 Years of Fashion Illustration (2007), 100 Years of Menswear (2009), 100 Years of Fashion (2012) and co-author of A Portrait of Fashion (2015). I have published articles in peer-reviewed journals Costume and Textile History and contributed to exhibition catalogues for the V&A and Palais Galliera. I have written for Acne Paper, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and lectured widely. I am currently co-editing a book on the history of the Fashion School at St. Martins to be published in 2019.
I have taught on the BA Fashion History and Theory Pathway since 2001 and across other pathways in the Fashion Programme at postgraduate level. I have also contributed to postgraduate courses at London College of Fashion, Sotheby’s Institute and courses at the V&A Education Department.
I was Chairman of CHODA (Courtauld History of Dress Association) 2000-2005 and a Trustee of the Costume Society, 2005-2010. I am currently on the Editorial Advisory Board for The Association of Dress Historians.
My main research interest is the representation of dress in early colour photography, particularly the autochrome process. This includes the intersection of (so-called) ethnic and/or traditional dress with Western fashion and issues surrounding the hybridity of these exchanges such as colonialism, ethnicity and identity.
My research profile