Charlotte is a Berlin-based fashion scholar with an interest in digital media. She is a research assistant in cultural studies for fashion and textiles at the University of Paderborn and a member of the research training group ‘media anthropology’ at the Bauhaus-University Weimar. Charlotte graduated from MA Fashion Communication: Histories and Theories in 2019.
Why did you choose to study MA Fashion Communication: Histories and Theories at Central Saint Martins (CSM)?
Throughout my previous studies in Information Design and Media & Cultural Studies, I kept choosing fashion as a topic for my term papers and final thesis. While I always got encouraging feedback, my topics were still outliers and rarely discussed in class. In addition, I found it difficult to access academic literature on fashion, because most German universities don’t offer such courses. CSM appealed to me as a renowned institution with world-class researchers and resources. On the MA Fashion Communication programme, it was a given that fashion and dress are worthy and productive topics for research!
What have you been working on since graduating?
My PhD dissertation! After graduating from CSM, I embarked on a PhD project at the Bauhaus-University Weimar, where I investigate the materiality of digital fashion. In my dissertation, I challenge the idea that digital fashion is immaterial and therefore automatically sustainable. Instead, digital fashion’s materiality is two-fold: it simulates textile garments through computer graphics, but it also relies on the hardware and resources that make the display of digital fashion possible in the first place. Through the topic of digital fashion, my dissertation deals with the medialities of fashion and explores the relationship between fashion image and fashion object. The years of hard work have definitely paid off: I am proud to say that I submitted my dissertation in March 2025! Now I work as a research assistant at a university where I teach classes on fashion and media, supervise my own students and present my research at international conferences.
What was the most interesting project you worked on during your time on the course?
Without a doubt, my MA thesis on virtual influencers. At the time, virtual influencers like Lil Miquela were still relatively new. In my thesis, I paid particular attention to how these synthetic bodies relate to fashion and how they contribute to blurring the virtual and the actual. I also had the opportunity to present this research at the MA Fashion Communication evening at CSM, where students from all three pathways come together to share the projects they have been working on with the public. Later, I reworked the text into a journal article that has been published in Fashion, Style & Popular Culture. A thought-through thesis can definitely be a great stepping stone for further academic pursuits!
What was the highlight of your Central Saint Martins experience?
Every week at CSM was exciting for one reason or another, but some activities were particularly memorable. For example, we got the chance to attend the MA Fashion show at the beginning of the year. One of our study visits took us into the V&A archive, where we saw intricately constructed couture gowns up close. Prof. Caroline Evans also accompanied us to the exhibition space in Alexander McQueen’s flagship store and talked us through the pieces on display. While these types of activities vary every year, you can be sure that CSM will open doors for you to all kinds of exclusive experiences.
What important piece of advice would you give to students thinking of studying this course?
Your time at CSM is what you make of it! At CSM, you’ll have fantastic opportunities, but you decide what topics and activities you want to engage in. What really stood out to me was the library. It is exceptionally well-stocked with academic literature on fashion, but also houses art books, magazines and even fan-zines. You will never be at another institution with such excellent resources! Other than that: show up to class, do the assigned readings (even if you don’t find them easy), and engage in class discussions. This will ultimately benefit you the most.
What is the most important thing you learnt on the course?
First and foremost, this course has provided me with an extensive and well-founded overview of the field of Fashion Studies. I have learned about both historical developments and current debates in the field that have helped me situate my own research. Thanks to this course, I have numerous ideas for concepts and literature to engage critically with any new topic I tackle.
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