Benjamin Simmenauer

Benjamin Simmenauer is a Professor and Director of Research at the University of Lorraine. His work centers on the theory of clothing semantics, employing formal semantics and pragmatics to decode fashion communication. He investigates aesthetic properties of garments and cyclical fashion phenomena, bridging analytic philosophy with cultural studies.

Education:

• PhD thesis in progress: 'The Meaning(s) of Fashion' (University of Lorraine, supervised by Roger Pouivet)
• Philosophy Aggregation (2002)
• École Normale Supérieure of Letters and Human Sciences (1999)

Research Focus: Benjamin explores how clothing conveys meaning through linguistic frameworks, analyzes design evolution, and examines fashion's cyclical trends. His interdisciplinary approach spans:

• Theoretical semantics applied to apparel
• Cultural cycles in fashion industries
• Epistemology of aesthetic judgment in garments

Program Leadership: He directs the 'Fashion Theories and Practice' PhD Studies Program, fostering academic discourse on fashion ontology and design philosophy.