OUR RESEARCHERS
Giuppy d’Aura is a lecturer at Istituto Marangoni School of Fashion (UK). He completed a BA and an MA in Film Studies at Università Roma Tre, followed by a second MA in History of Fashion at London College of Fashion and an MSc in Psychology at Birkbeck University. In 2020, he worked as head of research and author of the interviews in Luca Guadagnino’s documentary "Ferragamo: shoemaker of Dreams". His peer-reviewed publications focus on the relationships between fashion and art, fashion trends, and the psychosocial implications of wearing fashion, subjects that he also teaches at Marangoni. He is currently training as a psychodynamic psychotherapist in London.
Patrick Elf’s recently research projects include interdisciplinary longitudinal work examining the potential of sustainable small and medium fashion enterprises to advance circular economy (AHRC), work on sustainable food systems (UKRI/BBSRC), and post-growth business models (Mistra, Sweden). Patrick leads major research initiatives including work with IKEA UK on co-creational behaviour change approaches; work with the National Lottery Community Fund examining support mechanisms to drive social cohesion, sustainable development and community wellbeing; work for London Councils on implementing their Green Economy Action Plan, and work on regenerative post-growth and care approaches across global supply chains with the ESRC’s ACCESS FlexFund.
Marika Grasso is an artist and PhD candidate at Sheffield Hallam University’s Lab4Living, whose work explores touch, material fragilities, and sensory experiences. With a background in textiles and fashion, she investigates digital materiality and human-non-human entanglements using neurobiological and post-humanist frameworks, emphasizing tactile connections within shared ecosystems. In 2023, Grasso held a Junior Fellowship at the IWM, focusing on Digital Humanism and Care, and co-facilitated a SOMAGRID workshop for Ars Electronica, exploring touch as a sensory bridge between humans and technology. Her exhibition Handy! (2023) at Yorkshire Art Space examined embodied interaction and technology as part of a living sensory ecosystem.
Noorin Khamisani is a fashion designer, educator, and researcher, focused on design for sustainability, informed by two decades of professional practice. She was among the first wave of the pioneering ethical fashion movement in Europe, setting up the independent fashion brand Outsider in London in 2009. She continues to exhibit and sell her work internationally and lecture in fashion design and sustainability. Noorin holds an MA in Fashion Futures from UAL London College of Fashion and a BA (Hons) in Fashion Design from UCA Rochester. She is currently the programme leader in Postgraduate Fashion at Istituto Marangoni London.
Carolina Lio is a London-based curator, lecturer, and researcher specialising in the intersection of contemporary art, design, and social engagement. She is the founding director of Looking Forward, a curatorial office focused on ethical curating with an emphasis on social justice, sustainability, and care. Lio is also a curator for Visible, a platform supporting long-term socially engaged art projects addressing critical global issues, and a lecturer at Istituto Marangoni, London, where she teaches various modules of History of Art and Contextual Studies. She holds a BA in Semiotics from Università di Bologna, an MA in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art, London, and is a graduate of the CuratorLab programme at Konstfack University, Stockholm.
Michelle Lowe-Holder is a designer specializing in sustainable upcycled accessories, a practice she has honed for over a decade. After a career in fashion design, she shifted her focus in 2010 to experimenting with recycled materials, handcraft, and technology to create innovative, eco-conscious designs. As a part-time senior lecturer at Istituto Marangoni, Lowe-Holder has contributed to numerous international and local community projects and workshops. In 2022, she completed a Master’s in BioDesign at Central Saint Martins, where she explored regenerative materials for design applications.
Suzanne Lussier graduated with an MA in History of Dress from the Courtauld Institute of Arts, University College of London. She worked as Curator of Fashion at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and published on Art Deco fashion. She holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Higher Education and has been lecturing on Art, Fashion and Luxury at the Conde Nast College of Fashion, Accademia Costume e Moda, and at Istituto Marangoni, London. She has researched and published on the political role of dress in royal alliances within the courts of France and Spain in the early 17th century. She is currently working on the sartorial expenses at the Court of Lorraine in the early 17th century.
Kirsten Scott has over 35 years of experience in fashion education and the fashion and accessories industry as a designer and maker. She earned her PhD in Constructed Textiles from the Royal College of Art in 2012, where her research focused on sustainable materials and sourcing strategies rooted in the craft heritage of Uganda. Dr Scott is a founding member of the Barkcloth Research Network, an international, multidisciplinary group of researchers, designers, farmers, artists, environmentalists, and scientists from the UK, Uganda, and the US. She is also an active member of Fashion Act Now and the Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion. Her current research explores indigenous knowledges and vernaculars of the UK relating to fashion and textiles.
Matthew Williamson has been involved in pedagogic research and scholarship since being part of the Leadership Foundation project ‘Managing Teaching Performance’ in 2007. He is a quantitative social scientist, interested in the use of concordancing techniques in the analysis of qualitative data and data visualisation using cluster analysis and multi-dimensional scaling. Current projects include the analysis of the implementation of a framework for teaching practice and a large-scale study analysing differing perspectives on teaching, learning and assessment practices between academic staff, students and educational experts. Matthew has also presented extensively on definitions of teaching excellence and how it is recognised.
Karen Spurgin has specialised in couture embroidery design, working with numerous high-profile clients. From 2000 to 2014, she served as the surface textile designer for LA-based brand Dosa, where her work prioritised environmental and ethical concerns. This focus led her to co-found ao textiles, a consultancy recognised for its innovative contributions to circular textile design. At the core of ao textiles is research, development, and the application of sustainable practices in textile production, with a particular focus on natural dyeing and redefining perceptions of colour for the 21st century. Spurgin is also a member of the Bark Cloth Research Network. Her current research explores the concept that naturally dyed textiles can offer health benefits.
Nick Clements is a PhD candidate at UAL/CSM, with a research focus on British subcultures from 1950 to 1980 and their influence on fashion and societal aesthetics. His current research explores the role of the stylist within subcultural groups, examining how style signifiers transfer between groups, using the southern soul boys (1973–1982) as a case study. Previously, he completed an MPhil at the Royal College of Art, investigating revival subcultures in a contemporary context. His reflective project at IM London draws on his family’s East London heritage, inspiring a speculative novella, The Camera Never Lies, illustrated with his photography.