The Politics of Fashion, Why Fashion Matters

Irwin Hall Auditorium, Beirut campus

The Department of Art & Design, in collaboration with the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World, is hosting a lecture titled: “The Politics of Fashion: Why Fashion Matters” by Professor Frances Corner OBE.

The talk will explore how Corner used the power of fashion at London College of Fashion to tackle social, environmental, economic, and ethical issues.  Many people see fashion as ephemeral and frivolous, but Corner sees it as a creative, enterprising, multi-faceted industry that is vital to our economic and personal well-being.

Frances Corner OBE is head of London College of Fashion and Pro Vice-Chancellor Digital of University of the Arts London. She has over 25 years’ experience within the higher education sector at a national and international level. Corner champions the use of fashion as an agent for innovation and change, particularly in the areas of sustainability, health and well-being. She is Chair of the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes, Chair of Trustees of the House of Illustration and a former Trustee of the Wallace Collection. She has been named in the Business of Fashion 500 - a professional index key people shaping the global fashion industry for the last two years. In March 2016, Corner was honored with the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology (BIFT) Distinguished Professor and PhD Supervisor Award. She holds a DPhil from Oxford, publishes widely on art and design education and, in 2014, published her first book entitled ‘Why Fashion Matters’ (Thames and Hudson).