Publications & Lectures:

Books:  Canadian Fashion Economies: A Select History of Fashion Culture, Commerce, and Colonialization. London: Bloomsbury. (June 2025)  https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/canadian-fashion-economies-9781350357365/ Lilac Time at the Rodeo 2: Marie Debris, David Wojnarowicz & Martin Wong  https://a.co/d/9Fcbwst Lilac Time at the Rodeo: Stories of Identity, AIDS & Fashion. Toronto: Markoconnellstudio.  https://a.co/d/cYGjxed Chapters:  Author (2021) “Social Instruction: Ursula Franklin and the Dematerialized Fashion Marketplace” in What Would Ursula Franklin Say?. Eds., Kanishka Sikri, Katie Mackinnon & Leslie Regan Shade. Toronto: The McLuhan Centre at the UniversityRead more

MARKOCONNELLSTUDIO: RECIPES

A Nourishing Midwinter Bowl: Mark’s Cabbage & Fennel Soup Fennel is one of those ancient plants that wandered calmly through human history, quietly improving things as it went. Native to the Mediterranean, it was treasured by the ancient Greeks and Romans not just as food, but as medicine, symbol, and superstition. The Greeks associated fennel with victory and knowledge; Roman soldiers ate it for strength, while Roman cooks used every part of the plant: bulb, stalk, leaf, and seed, toRead more

Mark Joseph O’Connell Fiction (MARKOCONNELLSTUDIO)

The Listening Machine and Other Stories The Listening Machine and Other Stories is a collection about love that endures, even as it fractures…about art, memory, Queerness, and the fragile work of hope. Across present-day lives and near-future imaginings, Mark Joseph O’Connell traces intimate moments of connection: an astrophotographer searching the night sky for forgiveness, artists and lovers reshaped by time and ambition, unexpected romances born in protest and creation, and a lonely man whose bond with an AI reveals theRead more

Dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell Queer History (Queerstory) Lectures

Guy Hocquenghem and the Radical Reimagining of Queer Life Guy Hocquenghem (1946–1988) was one of the first openly Gay intellectuals to articulate a radically political theory of sexuality. Writing at the intersection of Marxism, psychoanalysis, and post-1968 revolutionary politics, Hocquenghem rejected both liberal identity politics and assimilationist gay rights, arguing instead that homosexuality exposes the repressive foundations of capitalist, familial, and state power. In Homosexual Desire (1972), he builds upon and critiques Freud and Deleuze–Guattari to frame desire as aRead more

Dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell Fashion History Lectures

From Medici Court to “Made in Italy”: Fashion, Power, and the Palazzo Pitti In this lecture, Dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell explores fashion as a system of power, memory, and cultural authority through one extraordinary institution: the Museo della Moda e del Costume in Florence’s Palazzo Pitti. Founded in 1983 as Italy’s first state museum devoted to fashion, the Museo della Moda e del Costume occupies a unique position in global fashion museology. Unlike institutions such as the Victoria and AlbertRead more

Memory in Metal: The Enduring Power of Renaissance Portrait Medallions at the Frick Museum

Memory in Metal: The Enduring Power of Renaissance Portrait Medallions By Dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell, Aug. 29, 2025. Fig. 1:  The Medals Room, The Frick Museum, NYC. Image courtesy of The Frick Museum, NYC. “This is not the face as mirror of the soul, but as sigil of the self.” The Mnemonic Sigil Perdures: Italian Renaissance and Later Metal Medallion Portraits from the Frick Museum Collection O’Connell (2025) Climbing the grand staircase, a feature once off-limits to the public (fig.Read more

Mark O’Connell speaking at the Seneca Pride Month Kick Off 2025! Tuesday, June 3, 2025, 10 a.m.

MH1005, Magna Hall, King Campus.  I will be speaking at the Seneca Pride Month Kick Off 2025! It is on Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 10 a.m. to noon MH1005, Magna Hall, King Campus.  You are all invited, it is SO great to see the Seneca commitment to Pride: https://students.senecapolytechnic.ca/spaces/267/reconciliation-and-inclusion/pridemonth#attendanevent Plus there is a Tie Dye Workshop! Lecture and Tie-Dye Workshop  Tuesday, June 3, 2025 | 10 a.m. to noon MH1005, Magna Hall, King Campus Join Dr. Mark O’Connell, Professor at the School ofRead more

Iris Simpson: A Trailblazer in Canadian Fashion History

Dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell Feb. 25, 2025. Article Citation: O’Connell, Mark Joseph. 2024. Iris Simpson: A Trailblazer in Canadian Fashion History. Seneca Polytechnic Canadian Fashion Diversity Project. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14925960. INTRODUCTION “Iris Simpson” Photo courtesy @ “Coming full circle from classroom to high fashion and back” https://magazine.torontomu.ca/classroom-high-fashion/ Iris Simpson’s name may not be as widely recognized as some of the designers she worked with, but her impact on Canadian fashion is undeniable. As a pioneering Black woman in the luxury fashionRead more

The Quadruple Helix in Fashion Paradigms: Bridging Innovation, Sustainability, and Societal Impact for a Regenerative Future

Abstract This research explores the transformative potential of the Quadruple Helix model within fashion education, expanding upon the traditional Triple Helix framework by integrating civil society and environmental sustainability as critical drivers of innovation. While the Triple Helix model emphasizes the interplay between academia, industry, and government, the Quadruple Helix adds a vital dimension that addresses the fashion industry’s environmental impact, labour ethics, and the need for systemic change. Given fashion’s role as one of the most resource-intensive and pollutingRead more

Los Cubanos Americanos: The Collaboration of Isabel and Ruben Toledo, a Fusion of High Fashion and Art

Dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell Oct. 14, 2024. “Fabric creates movement. Not only color, but the depth of the cloth” (Isabel Toledo qtd. in Amoroso 2014) Isabel and Ruben Toledo — Cuban-born American creatives both — forged a dynamic and highly influential partnership that left a lasting imprint on fashion, design and art worlds alike. Their collaboration, which seamlessly blended their personal and professional lives, can be examined for their unique ability to merge the tactile artistry of fashion design withRead more

‘The Role of Open AI in Fashion: Transforming Creativity Through Innovation?’ (O’Connell 2024)

My article ‘The Role of Open AI in Fashion: Transforming Creativity Through Innovation?’ (O’Connell 2024) has just been published. The article was inspired my own research for an AI and fashion committee I was on recently at Seneca Polytechnic. My work on the academic committee to explore the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in fashion education was a dynamic and collaborative endeavour undertaken during May-June 2024. The committee, comprised of faculty members, Seneca School of Fashion (SoF) staff, and technologyRead more
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Stitching a Digital Age: The Convergence of Style and Technology (2025)

Stitching a Digital Age: The Convergence of Style and Technology (2025) by dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell, Toronto: Markoconnellstudio, publishing date: January 2025. In Stitching a Digital Age, readers embark on a journey through the dynamic world where fashion meets innovation. This book critically delves deep into how technological advancements are revolutionizing the fashion industry, from the way garments are designed and produced to how they are marketed and worn. The research also delves into the ways in which technological advancements areRead more

Modular Menswear

Highlights from my fashion label: Modular Menswear, a brand that focused on handworked knitwear, artisanal (local) tailored production, using gorgeous fabrics imported form Europe. Active at the turn of the century!Read more

Lilac Time at the Rodeo

Lilac Time at the Rodeo 2: Stories of Marie Debris, David Wojnarowicz, Martin Wong (Publication Date February 14, 2024!). The subjects of the Lilac Time series of books are Queer fashion and art practitioners we lost to AIDS. In Lilac Time at the Rodeo 2 we visit with: Marie Debris, David Wojnarowicz, Martin Wong, and Peter Hujar. These people because of the stigma attached to their illness, were never properly eulogized. Bright, brilliant, and visionary all, the loss of themRead more

Conference Presentation: Seneca Canadian Fashion Diversity Project: A Hybrid Faculty-Student Research Initiative Exploring Visibility and Equity Within the Canadian Cultural Landscape (FIT NYC Nov, 2023)

What an honour and a thrill to be able to present the work that the Seneca Fashion students and I have been doing for the Seneca Canadian Fashion Diversity Project. The Archiving Fashion Conference: Mapping Fashion Collections, at Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC was all around amazing!  Thank you to Dr. Natalie Nudell and the organizing committee for putting together this amazing conference! Full conference proceeings are here: https://www.fitnyc.edu/academics/academic-divisions/liberal-arts/art-history/archiving-fashion-conference/index.phpRead more

Luxury Studies: The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal

I am pleased to announce that I am an editorial board member of: Luxury Studies: The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal. “As a term which has made its way into everyday language, the idea of luxury has secured a place in contemporary society. Luxury Studies: The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal explores the many issues and debates surrounding the idea of luxury as a historical and contemporary phenomenon, both critically and commercially.” For me the concept of “luxury” is what drives theRead more

Arc’teryx & the Luxury of Disruption: Sustainable Drivers of a Fashionable Brand. Conference Presentation, In Pursuit of Luxury Conference, May 26-27, 2022, Milan, Italy

Arc’teryx & the Luxury of Disruption: Sustainable Drivers of a Fashionable Brand. Conference Presentation, In Pursuit of Luxury Conference, May 26-27, 2022, Milan, Italy Abstract In Canada we struggle to recognize homegrown fashion talent, and our benchmarks for identifying quality work are based on imported luxury brands. Paradoxically, however, where we are most successful is when we are at our most Canadian. The Arc’teryx label for example. This brand that grew from a passion for rock climbing, and whose gear subsequently expandedRead more

Rodeo References

Refences for my Rodeo book series: “Cockettes Founder Hibiscus Dies in New York; 300 Other Cases Reported” Body Politic (85). 1982. Toronto. July–August:16. “Fashion Between the New and the Forgotten: Rose Bertin” 2020. Fashion Heritage. fashionheritage.eu. https://fashionheritage.eu/fashion-between-the-new-and-the-forgotten-rose-bertin/#:~:text=’,-Pariser%20Coeffuren%3A%20Chien&text=%E2%80%9CIl%20n’y%20a%20de,except%20what%20has%20been%20forgotten.) “Founder of Cockettes, Hibiscus, Dead of GRID”. 1982. Advocate, June 1982 (345): 12. “Halston Part 1”. 2009. Designer Marathon Volume 5. Videofashion. Accessed May 6, “A Wall Street Journal News Roundup. 1970. “Moribund Midi: Woeful Retailers Say the Lower the Hem, the Lower the Sales Women Call itRead more