Meet BSc Psychology of Fashion student Evie Scardthomas

During the Autumn term, as part of their Year 2 Consultancy Project unit, a group of 8 students took part in a research project with Paloma Wool, a well-known clothing brand based in Spain, that leads the way when it comes to innovative fashion.  With a strong focus on sustainability, founder Paloma Lanna wanted her brand to be more than a clothing label by collaborating with artists, designers, ceramicists, and photographers.

She was inspired by the art of styling and getting dressed and considered the different steps that go into developing a conscious fashion brand.

The consultancy project is designed for students to learn intermediate research methods and statistics by addressing a particular research area/business need. Paloma Wool briefed the group of students and tasked them to collectively investigate consumers behaviour around sustainability, the students research questions were:

• What factors influence consumer perceptions of a sustainable fashion brand?
• What factors influence consumer perceptions of sustainable textiles?

With this brief in mind the group formed a research project which included completing and designing a questionnaire, collecting, and analysing findings and compiling a lab report which they used to present their findings – all integral, transferable skills sought after in graduation positions.

In their final brief to Paloma Wool, they provided a report detailing consumers perceptions around sustainability in terms of the brand and textiles used as well as recommendations on how to improve brand perceptions and encourage ethical consumers. This exciting collaboration is just one example of how our students to apply their training in psychology and research methods to address pressing issues within the fashion industry. Course Leader for the course Dr Mason Silveira said,

“working with Paloma Wool was an amazing opportunity for students on our course to apply their psychological training to inform industry marketing practice. Through the Consultancy Project unit, the students were able to develop their research methods and data analysis skills and provide data-driven recommendations to Paloma Wool. These are key skills developed on the course which give our students an edge when working in industry, so it was great they could get this experience by working with such a great brand.”

We caught up with our BA (Hons) Psychology of Fashion students to hear how they found the experience: