Research-degree students are welcomed into the Fashion programme as part of the School of Material, which has expanded its MPhil and PhD culture and now has a well-established history of successful graduates and leading-edge researchers in the disciplines. Researchers in fashion collaborate with colleagues in textile design, jewellery and applied arts programmes as well as more interdisciplinary projects. For more about the status and nature of research at the RCA see Programme Research.

Research students complete a yearlong Research Methods Course before developing a more self-directed programme of research, supported by subject-specific seminars, workshops and skill development courses. Researchers have a School Research Leader, supervisor and specialist adviser. Research-specific activities form part of a wider pattern of lectures and seminars across the College, and the rich academic life is further enhanced by the extensive relationships we have with world-class academic, museum and industrial institutions. An interuniversity consortium of training for practice-led research skills, supported by the AHRC, starts in 2012/13.The presence of MPhil and PhD students continues to stimulate the culture of research, creativity, individualism and analysis that benefit the whole of the School of Material.

• style in fashion design
• historical and contemporary fashion cultures
• the cultural meaning of clothing
• subcultures, identity and style

Sarah Dallas
Professor Wendy Dagworthy
Julie Verhoeven
Tristan Webber
Flora McLean
Claire Pajaczkowska

Hye Eun Kim, PhD by project
Shirley Pengelly, MPhil by project, RCA Bursary (HEFCE)
Nathaniel Beard, PhD by project
Xi Jia, MPhil by project
Yeseung Lee, PhD by project
Ellen Sampson, PhD by project (AHRC studentship bursary)
Suzie Norris-Reeves