How can clothing convey status but not wealth? How can heritage brands excel in an era of less brand loyalty? And how is political polarisation impacting style? In this part of the 2021 Expert Outlook, we speak to three experts about how people are redefining the role fashion plays in identity.
Emma Hope Allwood is a writer and editorial/creative consultant specialising in fashion, social media, and digital strategy. She worked at Dazed from 2014 to 2020, and her previous role as head of fashion encompassed directing all digital fashion content and social media as well as ideating on partnerships with brands including Converse, Gucci, Dior, and Maison Margiela.
Jordan Anderson is editor-at-large at NSS Magazine and online editor at Twin Magazine. As a fashion journalist and creative director, his work explores political themes in and outside the fashion industry including race, gender, identity, and brand and cultural ethics.
Kim Jenkins is assistant professor of fashion studies in the School of Fashion at Ryerson University, lecturing previously at Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute. She designed an elective course and exhibition entitled ‘Fashion and Race’ and founded The Fashion and Race Database, an online platform of open-source tools that expand the narrative of fashion history and challenge misrepresentation within the fashion system.
Mira Kopolovic is a senior social scientist at Canvas8. She has a master’s degree that focused on visual culture and artist-brand collaborations, and spends her spare time poring over dystopian literature.