Dr James is an experienced fashion designer, educator and researcher focused on creating sustainable change in the future of the fashion industry. She believes that garments should not be beautiful at the expense of people and the planet and through innovative design approaches aims to embed responsible values throughout the fashion product lifecycle.
From a research perspective Dr James engages in challenge-led investigations that reflect contemporary societal issues. From an educational perspective she encourages students to think differently, creating ambitious sustainable solutions.
Approaching complex issues from a multi-stakeholder approach, her strengths include engaging with fashion consumers and applying design strategies to encourage small shifts in behaviour towards large-scale sustainable change.
Experience
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2018–presentExternal Examiner, Teeside University
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2019–presentAssistant Professor, Northumbria University
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2014–2019Assistant Professor, Heriot-Watt University
Education
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2015Northumbria University, PhD
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2015Heriot-Watt University, Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice
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2010Northumbria University, MA Design
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2009Manchester Metropolitan University, BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Technology
Publications
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2023Rethinking the fashion value chain: how reshoring can create a localised product lifecycle and support sustainable economic growth, Novel sustainable alternatives for the textiles and fashion industry
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2023Mind and muscle: Deconstructing the uniform of masculinity in the time of AIDS, Critical Studies in Men's Fashion
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2022Utilising 3D fashion design software to enable remanufacturing in sportswear, International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education
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2021The Future Generation of Fashion: How higher education contextualizes sustainability as a key design tool, The Routledge Companion to Fashion Studies
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2020How Consumer Action can Help Build a Sustainable Future for Fashion, Journal of Litter and Environmental Quality
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2019Bridging the double-gap in circularity: addressing the intention-behaviour disparity in fashion, European Academy of Design 2019
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2019Sustainability and garment longevity in the UK high street, Global Perspectives on Sustainable Fashion
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2017Engaging the fashion consumer in a transparent business model, The International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education
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2017Making the Change: The Consumer Adoption of Sustainable Fashion, The Detox Fashion
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2017People as an essential tool for considering ethics in the product lifecycle, Design Management Academy Conference Proceedings
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2016Transforming the sequential process of fashion production: where zero-waste pattern cutting takes the lead in creative design, The International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education
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2016The Role of the Retailer in Socially Responsible Fashion Purchasing, Textiles and Clothing Sustainability: Sustainable Fashion and Consumption
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2016Connectivity, Understanding and Empathy: How a Lack of Consumer Knowledge of the Fashion Supply Chain Is Influencing Socially Responsible Fashion Purchasing, Textiles and Clothing Sustainability: Sustainable Fashion and Consumption
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2015Influencing Ethical Fashion Consumer Behaviour: A Study of UK High Street Retailers, Doctoral Thesis
Grants and Contracts
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2023IMPACT+ Environmental Index Measures Promoting Assessment and Circular Transparency in Fashion
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding Source:
- UKRI (NERC, AHRC, IUK)
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Website
- @alanamjames
- Article Feed
- alana.james@northumbria.ac.uk
- ORCID
- Joined
