Mairi MacKenzie

Mairi MacKenzie is Research Fellow in Fashion and Textiles at Glasgow School of Art. She is a fashion historian, writer and curator, and her research seeks to understand not just what was worn and by whom, but why it was worn and what the relationship is between the clothes that we wear and our culture.

Mairi’s current research is concerned with the relationship between popular music and fashion; social histories of perfume; and the history of dressing up and going out in Glasgow. She is author of Dream Suits: The Wonderful World of Nudie Cohn (Lannoo 2011) and Isms: Understanding Fashion (A&C Black 2009).

Mairi is a visiting lecturer at Glasgow University and was lecturer in Cultural and Historical Studies at London College of Fashion. She completed her undergraduate degree in History at Glasgow University in 1995 and then attended Brighton University to pursue a Master’s degree in Design History and Material Culture. Before becoming a fashion historian Mairi worked within various fields including time spent within the buying department of Oddbins Wine Merchants, as manager of a Fine Art gallery in London and then as a fashion industry professional working as assistant to the designer Shirin Guild.

Her research interests include;
• Fashion and Dress History (late nineteenth century, twentieth century and contemporary fashion cultures);
• Fashion Theory;
• Material Culture;
• Fashion and Popular Music;
• Fashion and Perfume;
• Fashion within the context of the Archive and the Museum;
• Scottishness and Dress.