Letter from the Editors

I’ve been debating with a colleague about the state of the field of fashion studies. They see our field as still catching up to other more established disciplines that have been engaging with the big ethical questions of decoloniality, sustainability, and inclusion for over two decades already. I, on the other hand, consider the inherent inter- and transdisciplinarity, as well as the relative newness of our field, as strengths. These qualities make our researchers, thinkers, and makers nimble enough to grapple with these questions in innovative, productive, and powerful ways. I say “relative newness” because I no longer think of our field as emergent. We are growing—that’s for sure—but I believe we no longer need to assert our academic legitimacy to less imaginative, but more senior scholars, or seek out fellow fashion researchers as if we were members of an ill-viewed secret society. Fashion studies is now a well-established field of critical inquiry and is enriched by an avant-garde of early-career researchers, creatives, and makers whose work shifts the foundations of what is considered the status quo. Through fashion, we envision a better world by engaging with traditions, practices, and communities that have been marginalized by hegemonic forces, while also looking ahead to new technologies and perspectives that decenter dominant ideologies and systems.

This debate with my colleague was rendered moot by the work accomplished by the graduate students who organized our inaugural symposium, Unravelling Fashion Narratives, in June 2024, the panelists who shared their innovative research at the two-day event, and the Student Editorial Board that oversaw the publication of this issue of Fashion Studies that you are reading now. As faculty advisor, I had the marvelous experience of working closely with many of these legendary children and upcoming legendary children (see Paris Is Burning, to understand the reference) and experienced first-hand what this next generation of fashion scholars and makers is thinking and doing. Collectively, we brought together 35 early-career scholars to share work that nourishes our field and inspires us all to continue working in the archives, at our looms, in the field, on the land, at our computers, with our knitting needles, or at our sewing machines with the express goal of world-making.

This special issue of Fashion Studies revisits some of the creative and innovative research from the symposium so that we can continue to reflect on the ideas that circulated and share them with a broader interested public. I hope you find this special issue as stimulating as we do. I’m certain that, after reading this issue, you’ll share my belief that the future of fashion studies is bright—because of the questions that students in the field are asking and, more importantly, because of the answers they propose and the new perspectives emerging from their work. 

Happy reading.

Nigel Lezama