Professor in Sustainable Fashion & Textiles

Location:  Winchester School of Art

Achieving the Remarkable

The University of Southampton is in the top 1% of world universities and is one of the UK’s top 15 research-intensive universities. Committed to excellence in all we do, we are growing and investing in our research and people to accelerate our remarkable achievements. With particular focus on four key impact themes chosen to build on the university’s existing strengths and to address the most complex societal and environmental challenges: Artificial Intelligence, sustainability and resilience, decarbonisation and engineering better health, this role is integral to our aim of making a lasting difference.  

Winchester School of Art is the University of Southampton’s constituent art school, one of very few operating as part of a research-intensive Russel Group university. The school comprises three cognate academic departments - art & media technology, design, fashion & textiles – and various interdisciplinary research labs and groups, as well as an internationally operative, socially engaged, public gallery.

The role 

Professor in Sustainable Fashion & Textiles (Department of Fashion & Textiles, Winchester School of Art (WSA)) 

This new chair is designed to extend, energise and develop academic leadership capacity in our sustainability research, knowledge exchange and education work. Positioned in a context shaped by practice-based and theoretical activities across fashion and textile design, e-textiles, luxury, and fashion leadership, strategy, marketing and management, ours is a markedly interrogative and interdisciplinary environment. This role will play a critical part in advancing ambitious programs of high-impact, socially transformative, and well-funded research, building on our current strengths, including design, e-textiles, luxury consumption, smart technologies, and socio-cultural histories of fashion and dress. The role will also help develop and deliver a rapidly evolving research-led curricular.

About you 

You will be a project-based research/educator working across practice-based and/or theoretical modalities. Of clear international standing with an outstanding track-record of research output and grant capture, your work will critically and creatively engage the relationship between fashion and/or textiles and the question of sustainability, be that in terms of materials, design, manufacturing, or the socio-economic. You will be highly collegial and collaborative, exceptionally well networked, and demonstrably skilled and experienced in research team building and large-scale grant capture. 

What we can offer you 

With a generous holiday allowance as well as additional university closure days we are committed to supporting our staff and students and open to a flexible working approach. We give full consideration to applicants that wish to work flexibly and those who have taken a career break. All our benefits can be viewed on the Benefits Explained website.

As a university we aim to create an environment where everyone can thrive and are proactive in fostering a culture of inclusion, respect and equality of opportunity. We welcome applications from candidates who are committed to helping us create an inclusive work environment. We particularly encourage applications from people who identify with one or more of the following: Black, Asian, a minority ethnic background, coming from a lower socio-economic background, LGBTQ+, a woman or having a disability as these identities are currently underrepresented in our working community.

Discover more about our key impact themes and the exciting opportunities on offer by visiting our campaign site

Please submit details for 3 referees and include your CV and publication list with your application.

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