Call for Papers

                            Re-Imagining Global Fashion Business: New Models, Values and Ideas An Interdisciplinary Conference (Online)                              Coventry University London, London, UK in association with the Fashion Research Network -  22nd-23rd July 2021

NB: Due to the current situation in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic and the current lockdown and social distancing measures now in place in the UK this conference will now take place online Thursday 22nd-Friday 23rd July 2021. Abstract submissions for papers and research posters are still being taken until 30th April 2021. Submissions will be considered for presentation at the conference and/or publication in an edited volume.

We never envisaged in planning this event how timely re-imagining the global fashion business would be, but perhaps now is the time to support each other and our colleagues across the industry and related sectors to critically evaluate what changes in terms of models, values and ideas now need to take place. We look forward to your entries and support.

Call for Papers

Fashion is the world's second largest industry, a large-scale global employer encompassing agriculture, manufacturing, artisanal craftmanship, design, logistics and retail. Publicly considered and promoted as glamorously effortless, behind-the-scenes a large amount of preparation, planning and forecasting is made to engage global fashion consumers in the processes and culture of fashion driving desire and consumption. Increasingly, fashion is a global business sector, which is having to come up with answers and solutions for a range of challenges and opportunities; sometimes planned, sometimes spontaneously, often at a company rather than sector level. Yet is now the time to think, and act, more strategically? Are these now more a hindrance than a help to serving the needs and desires of fashion's consumers? What are the drivers behind fashion's challenges and opportunities? Does there need to be a full re-think of the processes and systems, which support the fashion sector? What new business models need to be evolved? What role does technology and sustainability play within this? Who are the new leaders and mentors to guide us in this?

Scholars and fashion business innovators are invited to submit applications for a 15-minute paper on the following key themes of the conference:

  • New Fashion Retail Business Models and Strategies
  • Modern Approaches to Fashion Marketing and Branding
  • Local and Global Perspectives on Disrupting the Fashion Consumer
  • Innovations in Fashion Technology and Digital
  • Contemporary Innovations in Sustainability, Value Streams and the Circular Economy
  • Culture, History and Artisanship in the Context of Global Fashion Business
  • Leadership, Diversity and the Role of Mentors in Global Fashion Business Innovation

We invite proposals for 15-minute papers on the themes outlined here. Paper proposals should contain a short biography (max 60 words), extended abstract (max 1000 words) and up to 5 key words with full contact details including the email address(es) of the speaker(s).

Entries should be emailed as a Word.doc file to the conference organisers Nathaniel Dafydd Beard (nathaniel.beard@coventry.ac.uk) and Ranjit Thind (ranjit.thind@coventry.ac.uk) by Friday 30th April 2021.

Additional Information:

No fee will be payable by speakers whose extended abstract submission is successful. This conference will be held online. Please note no bursary or monetary support can be offered for travel or other expenses. A letter of support in order to facilitate funding applications via your own academic and/or commercial organisation can be provided on request to the conference organisers.

Conference proceedings may be audio recorded and/or filmed and speakers will likely be asked to contribute to social media promotion and/or be interviewed in the run-up to the conference.

Conference organisers will be working with a reputable academic publisher to develop a publication based on the papers and conference proceedings. All accepted papers will be considered for potential publication.

                    About the Conference Organisers


Nathaniel Dafydd Beard

Nathaniel is Senior Lecturer and Course Director for MSc International Fashion Marketing and MSc International Fashion Marketing with Extended Professional Practice. A Co-Founder of the Fashion Research Network established in 2013 to support and promote the work of Early Career Fashion Researchers collaborators have included: Bard Graduate Center, Courtauld Institute of Art, Centre for Fashion Curation (London College of Fashion), Coventry University London, De Montfort University, Fashion Institute of Technology, ICA, INIVA, Museum at FIT, New York, Parsons New School for Design, Royal College of Art, Somerset House, Tate Modern, V&A Museum, University of Cape Town, and University of Hong Kong.

A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, at Coventry University London Nathaniel teaches and supports students at both postgraduate and undergraduate level teaching modules focusing on Fashion Marketing and Management, Luxury, History and Culture of Fashion, and Research Methods.

His work has been published in Fashion Theory: Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, Address: Journal of Fashion Writing & Criticism, BIAS: Journal of Dress Practice, Sexymachinery and Arc, and in book chapters in Germany, Italy, UK, and USA, as well as presented at conferences at the universities of Bologna, Brighton, Helsinki, Huddersfield, London, Oxford, Sheffield and Warwick, Institut Français de la Mode (Paris), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Milan), London College of Fashion, Royal College of Art and for the Costume Society.

Publications and Scholarship Activities (Selected)

  • 'Fashion Monitor: Surveillance as a Fashion Skill,' (2015) in BIAS: Journal of Dress Practice, Issue 3, Fashion and Surveillance, New York, NY: Parsons, The New School for Design.
  • 'From Static to Dynamic: The Changing Experience of Fashion Imagery,' (2014) in David Machin, Editor Visual Communications, Berlin and Boston, MA: De Gruyter Mouton Verlag.
  • 'Figureheads and Apparitions: The Ministers of Style,' (2014) in BIAS: Journal of Dress Practice, Issue 2, Fashion and Politics, New York, NY: Parsons The New School for Design.
  • 'Chameleon, Hybrid, Medusa, Octopus: Fashion as Polymath,' (2013) in Arc, Issue 17.2, Crossings: The Polymath Issue, London: Royal College of Art.
  • 'Fashion as Disruption,' Catalogue Essay in Nils Jean, Editor (2013) Disruption - Research RCA Biennial Exhibition Catalogue, London: Royal College of Art.
  • 'The ''It'' Factor: In Pursuit of the Commoditisation of Fashion', (2012) in Jess Berry, Editor, Fashion Capital: Style Economies, Sites, and Cultures, Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press.
  • 'Exhibition Review - Fashion Clash Maastricht,' (2012) in Valerie Steele, Editor, Fashion Theory: Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, Volume 16, Number 1, March, London and New York, NY: Berg.
  • 'From Out of the Box', in Johannes Reponen, Editor (2011) Address - Journal for Fashion Writing and Criticism, London: Address Publications.
  • 'Defining the Fashion City: Fashion Capital or Style Centre?' (2011) in Alissa de Witt-Paul and Mira Crouch, Editors, Fashion Forward, Oxford: Inter-disciplinary Press
  • 'The Branding of Ethical Fashion and the Consumer: Luxury Niche or Mass-market Reality?' (2008) in Regina Root, EditorEcofashion Special Issue, Fashion Theory: Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, Volume 12, Number 4, Oxford and New York, NY: Berg.
  • 'Magpies and Hypocrites, Snobs and Villains: A View from the Catwalk' (2008) in Issue A: Super Replica special 'bootleg' edition of Sexymachinery Magazine and Exhibition at Permanent Gallery, Brighton, UK.

Ranjit Thind

Ranjit is Lecturer in International Fashion Marketing and Management. He has over 20 years' experience in the global fashion and luxury industry in senior product, planning and business management roles. He has worked internationally for firms such as Nike, Asprey and Ralph Lauren.

At Coventry University London Ranjit teaches and supports students on a range of fashion marketing and management modules across undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Professional and Industry Memberships

  • Chartered Management Institute - Member
  • Harvard Business School Club & Alumni Angels - Member

Publications and Scholarship Activities (Selected)

  • Thind, R. (2017), Strategic Fashion Management: Concepts, Models and Strategies For Competitive Advantage, Routledge: London.
  • Thind, R. (2016), Reinventing Retail: Going Global, 12th Annual Retail & Luxury Goods Conference, Harvard Business School: Boston
  • Bearne, S. and Thind, R. (2012), Global Careers: Setting Sail, Drapers: UK
  • Mallick, S. and Thind, R. (2002), Dynamics of ICT-Based Supply Chain, 4th Annual International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institute Conference, IFFTI: Hong Kong

About Coventry University London


Coventry University London as a member of The Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) is a rapidly growing, dynamic institution located in the heart of the City of London Business District, a short walk from Liverpool Street Station, and the bustle of London's creative industries and the Silicone Roundabout in Shoreditch.

The courses at Coventry University London include MBA International Fashion Management, MSc International Fashion Marketing, MSc International Fashion Marketing with Extended Professional Practice, BA and BA (Top-Up) International Fashion Management and Marketing. Attracting a cohort of aspiring fashion professionals from Belgium, Bangladesh, China, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Ukraine, UK, USA, and Uzbekistan the highly-experienced, industry-facing Fashion Academic Team at Coventry University London seek to develop and challenge the skills of the next generation of global fashion managers and digital communications specialists. Alumni from the courses can be found working at firms and brands including Ananas Anam, Annoushka, Beyman (Turkey), Boden, C&A, Chanel, Comme Des Garçons, Emporium (Thailand), Louis Vuitton, New Flag GmbH (Germany), Net-A-Porter, and Uniqlo as well as founding their own businesses.

About Fashion Research Network


The Fashion Research Network (FRN) is a collaborative venture set up to promote and share the work of PhD and early career researchers in fashion and dress studies. Since 2013 the FRN has hosted more than 50 events in the UK and USA collaborating with a range of organisations and institutions including: Bard Graduate Center, Courtauld Institute of Art, Centre for Fashion Curation (London College of Fashion), Coventry University London, De Montfort University, Fashion Institute of Technology, ICA, INIVA, Museum at FIT, New York, Parsons New School for Design, Royal College of Art, Somerset House, Tate Modern, V&A Museum, University of Cape Town, and University of Hong Kong. In 2018/19 the FRN published Hair Revisited a special edition of Fashion Theory: Journal of Dress, Body and Culture.

Re-Imagining Global Fashion Business: New Models, Values and Ideas
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