Ameerah Khadaroo

Profession

Lecturer for BSc Psychology of Fashion

College

London College of Fashion

Person Type

Staff

Biography

Ameerah Khadaroo is a lecturer on the BSc Psychology of Fashion at LCF and also teaches and supervises dissertations on the MSc Applied Psychology in Fashion. After studying for a BSc in Psychology and MSc in Applied Child Psychology, she completed her PhD in Developmental Psychology and Well-being. In this interview, Ameerah tells us what she enjoys the most about being an academic and explains how students from the BSc are contributing to the course and various research fields in psychology.

Interview

Fashion first entered Ameerah’s life when she studied it as one of her A level subjects and it has remained a very significant focus: “Fashion for me is what I really like and connect with. Since I was a teenager, I’ve always been quite conscious about what I wear – it doesn’t need to be something expensive, but rather something which I like and I’m comfortable wearing.” Ameerah remembers how she jumped at the opportunity to join LCF as it would allow her to expand her knowledge of fashion by marrying it with her expertise in Psychology:

“After my whole journey, I’m quite happy and privileged that I am now working at LCF because I have the chance and the platform to use my passion for fashion in the context of psychology.”

Ameerah is currently exploring the link between the outer-self and the inner-self in the context of fashion, and how this can be understood from a positive psychological perspective: “Research in fashion and wellbeing is currently expanding and using different perspectives. In my opinion, it’s a really interesting area and something which is worth examining in more depth. I’m particularly interested in exploring and researching fashion from a developmental perspective; for example, how teenagers may use fashion as a form of self-expression which can then influence identity formation”.

Just like her area of research, Ameerah points out that the BSc Psychology of Fashion is a fascinating course because it’s continuously developing and expanding: “We don’t just teach students how to apply psychology in the context of fashion, but also help them to recognise how psychology and fashion are interlinked."

"Students are free to explore and share their personal experiences as fashion consumers to then try to explore this through the lens of a fashion psychologist. They’re encouraged to ask questions and dig into new areas which have not yet been researched.”

For those thinking of navigating this area and enrolling on the BSc Psychology of Fashion, Ameerah wants new students to come to LCF with an open mind, ready to make their own contribution to the development of the course: “They should come in with an attitude of being able to have an input and make the learning process enjoyable."

"In this BSc we have seminars, talks, lectures, and in all of these sessions we expect students to interact and share their experiences and their ideas. Having different perspectives can make this course richer and more creative.”

Ameerah highlights that, after nearly a decade teaching psychology across different levels and institutions, being able to interact with students is what keeps her in academia: “For me, it’s very important to have social interactions with students engaging in a two-way learning process with me. Time flies when you’re teaching and engaging in interesting discussions with students. This allows you to learn from them at the same time as they’re learning from you.”

Links

Ameerah Khadaroo

Biography

Interview

Links

London College of Fashion

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