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

Marie Marguerite Rose: A Story of Early-Colonial French Chic and Emancipation…

By dr. Mark Joseph O’Connell, My recent post from the Seneca Canadian Fashion Diversity Project: This is Charlene Chasse she has worked as a historical re-enactor with Parks Canada for the past nineteen years. She states of herself:…”I knit, I sew, I cook and I do hot yoga.” She also brings to life the fascinating historical figure of one Marie Marguerite Rose… Fig. 1, “Charlene Chasse portraying Marie Marguerite Rose”, https://www.facebook.com/CanadaC3/photos/i-portray-marie-marguerite-rose-shes-a-freed-slave-she-gets-her-freedom-in-1755-/388351961562977/ The legacy of the fashion artifacts left behind inRead more

Succès de Scandale: Homophobia, Racism and Abject Marketing in Fashion

Succès de Scandale, the manipulation of outcry over the deliberately shocking, has been used frequently to garner notoriety and fame in the past. Currently, fashion brands are notorious for dropping crypto-offensive items into their marketing and then backing off with a meagre apology when customers react with legitimate offence. Social media hashtags generate viral visibility, and the associated brand is amplified exponentially. Engaging in this dance between the edgy and the truly offensive becomes tactical for brands to appear ‘cool’,Read more

“Cosmetics, Glamour and AIDS: Way Bandy, Scott Barrie and Halston”

“We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.”― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I presented “Cosmetics, Glamour and AIDS: Way Bandy, Scott Barrie and Halston” Thursday, July 1st at 1pm Toronto time for the Sartorial Society Series @SartorialSeries https://www.sartorialsocietyseries.com/ Here is the recording: https://www.sartorialsocietyseries.com/ My talk was part of week 5: Week Five: Trauma & the Legacies of Loss 1st July 2021 ​ Lucy Adlington (20-minute paper) The Apple-Green Gown: Ghosts of ADEFA and Nazi Germany ​ Mark O’Connell (20-minute paper)Read more

Design Engagements in Puebla, Mexico

I recently had the pleasure of giving two lectures and visiting leading design schools in Puebla City, Mexico. The first lecture: “El Paisaje de la Moda Canadiense y la Investigación de Sostenibilidad de la Moda” was held on March 26, 2019 at the School of Design at Ibero University. I talked (in Spanish) to the students in the textile design program about my recent research in Oaxaca, as well as discussed fashion sustainability in the Canadian context. The students askedRead more