Research at LCF
Research at London College of Fashion is generated by a wide-ranging group of exceptional thinkers, creative practitioners, fashion business experts, and doctoral students. We produce internationally recognised research, critically engaging in challenging assumptions about how the world is, and illuminating a future for what it could be.
Our research community welcomes anyone who is interested in research activities at the college, UAL, other UK organisations, or across the globe within industry. LCF’s research community includes PhD students, early career academics, lecturers, senior lecturers, readers, and professors.
In addition to undertaking research, this community broadly engages in:
- Research-led teaching and learning programmes
- Practice based and practice-led research
- Projects that emerge from, or develop through, community facing knowledge exchange contributing to innovation in the wider industry
Visit our About us page to learn more about LCF's research community.
If you are interested in pursuing a PhD at London College of Fashion, visit our PhD and MPhil degrees page for more information.
Research stories
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Picturing the Woman-child. Image by LCF Research.
Picturing the Woman-child: Fashion, Feminism and the Female Gaze
LCF alumna, Dr Morna Laing, Assistant Professor at Parson’s Paris, presented her book, Picturing the Woman-child: Fashion, Feminism and the Female Gaze at LCF.
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Fashion: What's psychology got to do with it? Image of Jekaterina Rogaten, Soljana Çili, and Ameerah Khadaroo.
Fashion: What's psychology got to do with it?
In March 2023, London College of Fashion (LCF) hosted its first international online conference on the psychology of fashion.
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From left: Yimeng Jiao, Prof Danka Tamburic, Gabriela Daniels, Dr Milica Stevic and Diogo Baltazar at the IFSCC congress in London. Photo courtesy of Danka Tamburic.
LCF Research: recent activities in Cosmetic Science
A brief overview of the activities undertaken by LCF researchers from MSc Cosmetic Science, spanning from published papers to appearances at prestigious international events.
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Nabil & Helen together with the highly gifted embroidery ladies from Zaatari and Salma Al Qatawneh of Turquoise Mountain – Image c/o Turquoise Mountain.
Dr Nabil El Nayal joins Professor Helen Storey support the makers of Zaatari Refugee Camp
MA Womenswear Course Leader, Dr Nabil El Nayal joins Professor Helen Storey, returning to Jordan to continue supporting the future of the makers of Zaatari Refugee Camp.
Research facilities
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LCF Archives, Fashion for Beaux and Belles at Barrett Street School. @ London College of Fashion, College Archive VADS
LCF library and archives
The LCF library and archives gives you access to books, journals, DVDS and garments relating to all aspects of the fashion industry.
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Materials Collection at JPS Library | London College of Fashion | University of Arts London | 2021
Research facilities
The LCF research centres offer a great resource for your studies, from research to final projects.
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Image courtesy of UAL
UAL Research online
Our repository for research outputs from UAL's academics.
Projects
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Christopher Raeburn Spring Summer, 2018
The Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology
The 5 year industry-led project focusses on delivering innovation within the entire fashion and textile supply chain, with special attention given to positioning industry as agents of new technology and materials development.
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Muslim Fashion book cover
Modest Fashion in UK Women's Working Life
This AHRC project explores how religiously-related modest fashion and associated behaviours impact on UK women's working lives – regardless of their own religious community or beliefs.
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@ E-Nkiruka-Oparah. Precursor to a New Dream.
Design Futures in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Design Futures in SSA: Post-Western Perspectives is a network of pioneering technologists, curators and scholars from Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and UK. This project is funded by the Leverhulme Trust.
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Faith & Fashion
The Faith & Fashion public talks programme hosts conversations on the relationship between religious cultures and fashion cultures.
Research events
Past events
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Kim Smith, Miss Emily's Eleven String, 2006, hyper-realistic coloured pencil drawing of a native Bahamian straw worker, the late Emily Rolle of Cat Island.
CIAD Biennial Dress Conference: Fibres, Threads and Fabrics - Textiles and Cloth as Material Culture
LCF hosted the Costume Institute of the African Diaspora’s (CIAD) Biennial Dress Conference: Fibres, Threads and Fabrics in October 2022.
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ISFNR conference at LCF, July 2022. Photography by Jennifer Escuredo.
LCF Research Conference: Folk Narrative and the Visual Arts – Fashion, Design, Materials and Media, July 2022
Reflecting the disciplinary expertise of UAL, the ISFNR conference explored the intersections of folk narrative and visual culture in all its various forms.
PhD Researcher Profiles
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Karley Thompson
Social and cultural experiences of Black British women
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Kiran Ali
Smart digital strategies for fashion SME's adoption of immersive e-tailers
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from Paul Bevan: In Superposition, Finland (2016)
Paul Bevan
Photographic practice and the status of superposition
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Elisa Palomino
Indigenous arctic fish skin heritage