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

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