Suzanne Rowland

Suzanne Rowland is a Lecturer in Fashion and Dress History at the University of Brighton, affiliated with the Centre for Design History within the School of Humanities and Social Science. Her academic work bridges material culture, design history, and interdisciplinary theory, with a focus on the intersection of fashion, manufacturing, and gender in the 19th and 20th centuries.

• PhD, University of Brighton: Research on the rise of the ready-made blouse in Britain (1909–1919)
• MA, History of Design and Material Culture, University of Brighton
• BA, Cultural Studies, University of Sussex
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Her research explores fashion design, industrial clothing manufacture, and the consumption practices of working-class women, particularly in the Edwardian era. She employs creative methodologies such as storytelling and dress reconstruction to investigate the corporeal relationship between clothing and the body. Her work is deeply rooted in material culture studies and Actor-Network Theory, emphasizing the socio-technical networks behind fashion production.

The recent publications of Dr. Rowland demonstrate a consistent focus on blouses, museum practices, and narrative research methods. Her work spans authored books, peer-reviewed chapters, and journal articles, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches and historical reconstruction. The thematic core revolves around gendered labor, design innovation, and the preservation of textile heritage.

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

She supervises doctoral research in fashion and textile history, especially projects involving creative methodologies, museum display, and the social history of dress. While no specific grants are listed, her PhD was supported by the AHRC/Design Star consortium, indicating prior success in competitive funding. She is active in research networks such as the Centre for Design History and the ‘Tailored Clothes for Women’ project.

Dr. Rowland is affiliated with the Centre for Design History and contributes to the ‘Tailored Clothes for Women’ research project and the 19th Century Dress and Textiles Reframed network. She participates in conferences and workshops that explore the cultural significance of dress, aging, and memory in fashion media.