Redressing Fashion – Details, episodes & analysis

In celebration of the back-to-school season, Dr. Laura Beltrán-Rubio discusses the need to redress fashion history education by incorporating diverse perspectives and personal narratives, while also emphasizing the significance of engaging students’ passions and values in their learning process. The conversation highlights various strategies for educators to create a more inclusive and meaningful fashion curriculum.

This is not a fashion history podcast nor a practical note on fashion and style, but it has bits and pieces of both. While this is intended for mostly fashion educators and students, I also hope it will be relevant to those who are not fashion students or educators or are not returning to fashion school this year.

Special thanks to Katie Ibsen, Serena Dyer, Jonathan Square, and Kimberly Jenkins for their generous contributions to this episode!

Chapters

00:00 Reflecting on Fashion Education

04:58 Dismantling the Fashion History Survey

09:33 Making History Personal

12:02 Redressing Fashion History

15:47 Engaging and Personal Histories

22:30 Antidotes to AI

26:00 Outside the History Classroom

27:55 Personal Style and Fashion Scholarship

32:12 Third Spaces for Fashion in Schools

35:20 Three Little Things

Takeaways

- Critical thinking should precede reliance on AI tools.

- Fashion education needs to reflect diverse cultural narratives.

- Personal style development is a continuous journey.

- Engaging students' passions is crucial for effective learning.

- Redressing fashion history involves questioning traditional narratives.

- Diversity in fashion education enhances student engagement.

- Fashion history should include non-Western perspectives.

- Teaching strategies should adapt to student backgrounds.

- Fashion education can foster personal and social values.

Meet the scholars (in order of mention/appearance)

Professor Hazel Clark: https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/faculty/hazel-clark/

Katie Ibsen: https://www.katieibsen.com/

Dr Serena Dyer: https://www.serenadyer.co.uk/

Dr Jonathan Square: https://www.jonathansquare.com/

Kimberly Jenkins: https://www.kimberlymjenkins.com/

Relevant links & references

• Fashion Education: The Systemic Revolution: https://www.intellectbooks.com/fashion-education 

• Learn about the history of boteh: https://fashionandrace.org/database/boteh/

• Join my group style coaching program: https://laurabelru.com/style/ 

More about Laura

Visit my website: ⁠https://laurabelru.com/⁠

Find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurabelru

Find me on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@laurabelru

Sign up to my newsletter: ⁠https://laurabelru.substack.com/

In this episode, Laura returns to share a long-awaited review* of the book Fashion Education: The Systemic Revolution (2023), edited by Ben Barry and Deborah A. Christel. The book, consisting of 17 chapters by various fashion educators, aims to revolutionize fashion education with a focus on inclusivity and diversity. Laura discusses her personal readings and highlights the book’s diverse perspectives on queerness, Blackness, body sizes, and Indigenous fashion. She also reflects on the transformative impact of education as activism and the limitations in the book’s reach and representation. Laura calls for further global collaboration to enhance fashion education and hints at upcoming exciting conversations in future episodes.

*Disclaimer: My copy of the book was a gift from Intellect, its publisher.

About the book:

Fashion Education explores how the classroom can transform the fashion industry towards body inclusion and social justice.

The book is a collection of 17 essays by fashion educators from Australia, Canada, the US and the UK who recount their experiences, struggles and strategies of reimagining the exclusive foundation of fashion pedagogy and redesigning fashion curricula to centre Indigenous, Black, brown, fat, disabled, trans and queer worldviews, histories and bodies. […] Fashion Education engages with current pressing concerns for educators and is a valuable teaching resource for fashion educators – both theory and practice – working in art and design schools in Europe, the US and the UK.

(Abbreviated from publisher’s website: https://www.intellectbooks.com/fashion-education.)

Relevant links:

• Subscribe to Laura’s newsletter: https://laurabelru.substack.com/ 

• Learn more about Dr Ben Barry: https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/faculty/ben-barry/ 

• Find the book in a library near you: https://search.worldcat.org/title/1382798536

• View Laura’s website: https://laurabelru.com/ 

  
  

Episode chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Welcome Back

00:16 Book Review: Fashion Education

02:33 Personal Reflections and Disclaimers

03:55 Summary of the Book

05:29 Diverse Perspectives in Fashion Education

08:46 Highlighting Key Chapters

16:38 Challenges and Limitations

27:07 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

29:00 Closing Remarks

In the first interview of Redressing Fashion, Laura interviews Faith Cooper about her research on Asian fashion and her work behind the digital project, Asian Fashion Archive. They talk about cultural identity in fashion, some of Faith’s favorite aspects about Asian fashion, and how to redress fashion from Asian perspectives.

About Faith:

Faith Cooper is the creator of the digital resource project Asian Fashion Archive. Currently, she is participating in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program studying Brand and Fashion Management at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan. Previously she taught the Cross Cultural Expressions of Fashion and Dress course at the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked in the education department at The Museum at FIT. In addition to her experience working in fashion education, Faith’s past professional experience includes working at Christie’s, Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vogue, and International Condé Nast. Faith holds a master's degree in Fashion and Textile Studies and a bachelor's degree in Art History and Museum Professions, both from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

• Asian Fashion Archive website: https://asianfashionarchive.com/home 

• Asian Fashion Archive on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asianfashionarchive 

• About Faith Cooper: https://www.faithtcooper.com/ 

Relevant links & references:

• Fu Jen Catholic University Chinese Textiles and Clothing Culture Center in Taiwan: https://ctccc.tc.fju.edu.tw/

• Guo Pei exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum: https://www.nhb.gov.sg/acm/whats-on/exhibitions/guo-pei 

• Book – Fashion, Identity, and Power in Modern Asia edited by Kyunghee Pyun and Aida Yuen Wong (2018)

• Book – Rethinking Fashion Globalization edited by Sarah Cheang, Erica de Greef, and Yoko Takagi (2021)

• Book – The Japanese Revolution in Paris Fashion by Yuniya Kawamura (2004)

• Book – Fashioning Japanese Subcultures by Yuniya Kawamura (2013)

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Visit Laura’s blog: https://laurabelru.com/

Find me on social media: @laurabelru & @redressingfashion

Sign up to my newsletter: https://laurabelru.substack.com/

In this inaugural episode of the podcast, I share my journey in fashion and how I’ve become more and more attuned into the transformative power of fashion. I explain why I’ve decided to start this podcast anew, my mission to become a bridge between fashion academia, the industry, and consumers, and my vision for ‘redressing fashion’ to create a better world. This episode sets the stage for future conversations about the role of fashion in society and the need for collective action to address its challenges.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Redressing Fashion!

04:24 About Laura, your host

06:37 How I got here (to my obsession with fashion)

14:37 Things I've realized in 12+ years as a fashion scholar

17:54 About Redressing Fashion

20:10 What does it mean to "redress" fashion?

22:38 Why do we need to redress fashion?

25:44 What to expect in this podcast

29:28 Three little takeaways from this chapter

Useful links

Find me as @laurabelru on Instagram, Youtube and TikTok.

Read my full biography on my website.

In this solo episode, Laura Beltrán-Rubio reflects on her summer experiences, the challenges of navigating burnout in academia and the fashion industry, and the importance of reconnecting with personal style. She shares insights from her travels, research collaborations in Colombia, and the impact of recent conferences on her work. The episode emphasizes the need for questioning existing narratives in fashion and education, and encourages listeners to take meaningful actions to redress the fashion system.

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Mentioned in the episode:

• Loose thoughts: Fighting burnout as decolonization
• Fashion Education: The Systemic Revolution* edited by Ben Barry and Deborah A. Christel
• The Golden Thread* by Kassia St Clair
• On Savage Shores* by Caroline Dodds Pennock
• Love Requires Chocolate* by Ravynn K Stringfield
• Higher Self Habits* by Alessia Citro

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Visit my website: https://laurabelru.com/

Find me on social media: @laurabelru 

Join Redressing Fashion book club: https://laurabelru.com/rfc/

*Links marked with an asterisk contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission from applicable purchases.

In this (unscripted) episode, I share a bit about my new life in London, especially as I attempt to navigate what decentering/unsettling/decolonizing fashion might look like from one of its global capitals. I also talk about my three favorite—though unconventional and certainly more diverse than what mainstream media has been talking about—runway shows at London Fashion Week. Finally, I offer some reflections on how I’ve been approaching my teaching and research now that I’m back in fashion academia, but in a much more hegemonic site. Stay to the end for three little lessons I’ve learned with these spontaneous reflections!

Relevant links & references (in order of appearance):

• Book: Everyday Fashion: Interpreting British Clothing since 1600, ed. Bethan Bide, Jade Halbert and Liz Tregenza
• Video of SUNCUN runway show at London Fashion Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twvgJtvTt0w
• India Day at London Fashion Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbbd84J1MjA
• Video of Jasive Fernández runway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnbx3p6JaQg
• My new faculty profile: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/academic-staff/art-design-humanities/laura-beltran-rubio/laura-beltran-rubio.aspx

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Visit my blog: https://laurabelru.com/

Find me on social media: @laurabelru & @redressingfashion

Sign up to my email list: https://laurabelru.myflodesk.com/email-signup

In this episode, Laura shares some of her initial ideas on what it means to redress fashion from a historical perspective. This episode combines a presentation she gave at the Chicago Fashion Lyceum in 2020 with her Ph.D. dissertation and a 2022 published essay. You’ll hear about the separate definitions that we are often given for “fashion,” “costume,” and “dress” and be left with reflection prompts that question the need for such separate categories and the close relationship between categorization and colonialist dynamics.

Relevant links & references (in order of appearance):

• Join Laura’s Re/dressing Fashion Book Club: https://patreon.com/laurabelru/ 
• Portrait of Doña María Catalina de Urrutia by José Campeche at The Hispanic Society of America: https://hispanicsociety.org/exhibition/current-exhibitions-works-on-loan/treasures-on-the-terrace_highlights-from-the-hispanic-society-museum-and-library/dona-maria/ 
• Margaret Maynard’s Fashioned from Penury: Dress as Cultural Practice in Colonial Australia (1994): https://search.worldcat.org/title/29031387 
• Instagram Reel with Dr Hilary Davidson’s comment: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2LpDf0p5PI/

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Visit my blog: https://laurabelru.com/

Find me on social media: @laurabelru & @redressingfashion

Sign up to my email list: https://laurabelru.myflodesk.com/email-signup

In this episode, Laura introduces herself and shares what it means to “redress fashion.” Listen all the way to the end for a surprise giveaway and to learn more about what to expect in future episodes of this show!

Relevant links & references (in order of appearance):

• Laura’s biography: https://laurabelru.com/biography/ 
• Laura’s publication portfolio: https://laurabelru.com/publications/ 
• Digital companion to my dissertation, “Empire of Fashion/Imperio de moda”: https://imperiodemoda.com/en/home/ 
• Prof. Paul Ingram’s Columbia University faculty page: https://business.columbia.edu/faculty/people/paul-ingram 
• Interview with Paul Ingram on creating a values-based culture (Intersections podcast): https://www.hitendra.com/podcast/creating-a-values-based-culture 

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Visit my blog: https://laurabelru.com/

Find me on social media: @laurabelru

Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/laurabelru

Sign up to my email list: https://laurabelru.myflodesk.com/email-signup

In this solo episode, I discuss the importance of mindful shopping, especially during the holiday season. I emphasize the freedom of choice in shopping and the impact that each of our shopping habits can have on the world around us—immediately and more broadly. I talk about the reasons for wanting to shop (or not), the significance of budgeting and planning ahead, and share a few practical strategies for shopping more mindfully. I also talk about gifting, touching on some history, the emotional aspects of gift giving, and propose the idea of reclaiming gift-giving as a sacred practice.

The episode is meant to be a tool for listeners to reflect on their shopping habits and consider the broader implications of their purchases. And, if you ask me, it’s full of gems!

RELEVANT LINKS

Adventures in de-styling: https://destyling.substack.com/ 

Blog - Unshopping on Black Friday: https://destyling.substack.com/p/issue-2-unshopping-on-black-friday 

Blog from 2023 on Holiday Shopping: https://laurabelru.com/fashion-practices-on-holiday-shopping/ 

Style coaching program: https://laurabelru.com/style/ 

Find me on:

https://www.instagram.com/laurabelru 

https://www.tiktok.com/@laurabelru 

https://www.youtube.com/@laurabelru 

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TAKEAWAYS

Gifting is important and should be meaningful.

Mindful giving can reduce waste.

Many gifts end up in the trash shortly after purchase.

Encouraging thoughtful gifts can lead to better choices.

Consumerism often leads to meaningless gifts.

Mindful gifting reflects personal values.

Sustainable giving is a growing trend.

Gifts should resonate with the recipient.

Awareness of waste can change gifting habits.

Mindful gifting can foster deeper connections.

In this episode, Laura talks with Dr Georgia Ennis about plastic-free living, sustainable fashion, and the close connection between plastic-free fashion and language ecologies in the Ecuadorian Amazon. They share insights on how to conduct research as allies of Indigenous peoples worldwide, embrace slower approaches to fashion, and bring scholarly research outside of academia. Tune in to learn about culture reclamation among speakers of Amazonian Kichwa and practice-based strategies on how to realistically live with less plastic in a plastic world!

Relevant links

AMUPAKIN’s website: https://amupakinachimamas.com/

AMUPAKIN’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amupakin/

AMUPAKIN’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amupakin.achimamas

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Georgia’s website: https://www.georgiaennis.com/ 

Georgia’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plasticfreephd/

Georgia-s book: Rainforest Radio: Language Reclamation and Community Media in the Ecuadorian Amazon (Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2025)

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References & further readings

Chef Sean Sherman (The Sioux Chef): https://seansherman.com/ 

Susan Strasser, Waste and want: A social history of trash (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2000)

Kyle Whyte, “Settler Colonialism, Ecology, and Environmental Injustice,” Environment and Society 9, no. 1 (2018): 125–44.

See also Kyle Whyte’s website: https://seas.umich.edu/research/faculty/kyle-whyte 

Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Global Transformations: Anthropology and the Modern World (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003)