Redressing Fashion

In this solo episode, Laura Beltrán-Rubio reflects on her summer experiences, the challenges of navigating burnout in academia and the fashion industry, and the importance of reconnecting with personal style. She shares insights from her travels, research collaborations in Colombia, and the impact of recent conferences on her work. The episode emphasizes the need for questioning existing narratives in fashion and education, and encourages listeners to take meaningful actions to redress the fashion system.

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Mentioned in the episode:

• Loose thoughts: Fighting burnout as decolonization
• Fashion Education: The Systemic Revolution* edited by Ben Barry and Deborah A. Christel
• The Golden Thread* by Kassia St Clair
• On Savage Shores* by Caroline Dodds Pennock
• Love Requires Chocolate* by Ravynn K Stringfield
• Higher Self Habits* by Alessia Citro

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Visit my website: https://laurabelru.com/

Find me on social media: @laurabelru 

Join Redressing Fashion book club: https://laurabelru.com/rfc/

*Links marked with an asterisk contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission from applicable purchases.

In this (unscripted) episode, I share a bit about my new life in London, especially as I attempt to navigate what decentering/unsettling/decolonizing fashion might look like from one of its global capitals. I also talk about my three favorite—though unconventional and certainly more diverse than what mainstream media has been talking about—runway shows at London Fashion Week. Finally, I offer some reflections on how I’ve been approaching my teaching and research now that I’m back in fashion academia, but in a much more hegemonic site. Stay to the end for three little lessons I’ve learned with these spontaneous reflections!

Relevant links & references (in order of appearance):

• Book: Everyday Fashion: Interpreting British Clothing since 1600, ed. Bethan Bide, Jade Halbert and Liz Tregenza
• Video of SUNCUN runway show at London Fashion Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twvgJtvTt0w
• India Day at London Fashion Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbbd84J1MjA
• Video of Jasive Fernández runway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnbx3p6JaQg
• My new faculty profile: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/academic-staff/art-design-humanities/laura-beltran-rubio/laura-beltran-rubio.aspx

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Visit my blog: https://laurabelru.com/

Find me on social media: @laurabelru & @redressingfashion

Sign up to my email list: https://laurabelru.myflodesk.com/email-signup

In this episode, Laura shares some of her initial ideas on what it means to redress fashion from a historical perspective. This episode combines a presentation she gave at the Chicago Fashion Lyceum in 2020 with her Ph.D. dissertation and a 2022 published essay. You’ll hear about the separate definitions that we are often given for “fashion,” “costume,” and “dress” and be left with reflection prompts that question the need for such separate categories and the close relationship between categorization and colonialist dynamics.

Relevant links & references (in order of appearance):

• Join Laura’s Re/dressing Fashion Book Club: https://patreon.com/laurabelru/ 
• Portrait of Doña María Catalina de Urrutia by José Campeche at The Hispanic Society of America: https://hispanicsociety.org/exhibition/current-exhibitions-works-on-loan/treasures-on-the-terrace_highlights-from-the-hispanic-society-museum-and-library/dona-maria/ 
• Margaret Maynard’s Fashioned from Penury: Dress as Cultural Practice in Colonial Australia (1994): https://search.worldcat.org/title/29031387 
• Instagram Reel with Dr Hilary Davidson’s comment: https://www.instagram.com/p/C2LpDf0p5PI/

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Visit my blog: https://laurabelru.com/

Find me on social media: @laurabelru & @redressingfashion

Sign up to my email list: https://laurabelru.myflodesk.com/email-signup

In this episode, Laura introduces herself and shares what it means to “redress fashion.” Listen all the way to the end for a surprise giveaway and to learn more about what to expect in future episodes of this show!

Relevant links & references (in order of appearance):

• Laura’s biography: https://laurabelru.com/biography/ 
• Laura’s publication portfolio: https://laurabelru.com/publications/ 
• Digital companion to my dissertation, “Empire of Fashion/Imperio de moda”: https://imperiodemoda.com/en/home/ 
• Prof. Paul Ingram’s Columbia University faculty page: https://business.columbia.edu/faculty/people/paul-ingram 
• Interview with Paul Ingram on creating a values-based culture (Intersections podcast): https://www.hitendra.com/podcast/creating-a-values-based-culture 

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Visit my blog: https://laurabelru.com/

Find me on social media: @laurabelru

Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/laurabelru

Sign up to my email list: https://laurabelru.myflodesk.com/email-signup