Steering Committee

Elsa Darlington

Elsa Darlington is a current graduate student, completing her MA in Global Communications at AUP, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from The University of Edinburgh. She has a professional background in public relations, strategic communications, journalism, and fashion media editorship. Elsa’s research interests include the intersection of gender and online cultures, and her thesis centres on taste expression and aesthetics as a means of community construction and belonging in the digital public sphere. She has published writing on topics including de-growthing the fashion industry, slow design, and an extended multimedia project; ‘Signs of Wear: Fashioning Memory’, exploring the relationship between recollection and clothing.

Sara Wynn

Sara Wynn holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Textile Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, complemented by a Master of Arts in Global Communications in Fashion from The American University of Paris. With a solid foundation in woven textiles, design, and craftsmanship, Sara is driven by a desire to redefine and innovate various modes of thinking and communication within the realm of fashion. Her passion for education and advocacy in the field is evident, particularly in her dedication to promoting sustainability and ethical practices within the textile industry.

Kathryn Galloway

Kathryn Galloway is currently finishing her MA in Global Communications at AUP. She holds a BA in professional journalism and fashion studies from the University of Minnesota and has worked extensively in fashion communication and digital marketing. At present, she is working to produce a fashion storytelling publication that seeks to improve the way individuals perceive, engage with, and communicate about clothing. In a world where fashion is too often synonymous with disposability and conformity, the publication will stand as an alternative narrative by empowering individuals to become active participants in the fashion chain; to view themselves not as consumers of cloth, but as storytellers, historians, and stewards of the garments they wear. Please email her at keggallowaygmail.com if you'd like to contribute to the publication.

Madeline Czarnik

Maddie is a Creative Project Manager specializing in Sustainable Phygital Marketing & Consulting based in Paris for the last seven years. A recent Masters graduate at l’Institut Superieur des Arts Appliquées with a double degree in Luxury Management & Marketing and Écoresponsibility. She is also a graduate from the American University of Paris with a Bachelors in Fashion Activism encompassing the environment, anthropology, business, and fashion under one degree; one semester spent at the London College of Fashion studying Media and Communications in Fashion. 

Michelle Doyle

Michelle Doyle earned her MA in Global Communications from AUP in 2023, focusing on textile impact and cultural sustainability. Conducting her thesis research in India, she collaborated with designers and educators in Auroville and Jaipur, exploring communication practices for the social, ecological, and cultural impact of fashion materials. During her BA in Media Studies at the University of San Francisco, Michelle focused her journalism and film projects on social and environmental issues while initiating work with human rights-based non-profits, paving the way for her transition into the field sustainability in fashion. Currently, Michelle is collaborating with organizations focused on driving change in the fashion industry and beyond. She serves as the Sustainability Programme Manager for the Council on Sustainable Fashion and Design in Grenada, and contributes as a Communications Associate and Project Coordinator with the Cultural Sustainability Academy in Romania. 

Fiona Schlumberger

Fiona Schlumberger is a communications specialist and current MA student in Global Communications at AUP. She holds a BA in Political Science from Concordia University and has a professional background in education, journalism, and strategic communications for international development. In her work with international civil society organizations, she has developed locally-adapted community engagement strategies and communication campaigns for social change. Her past research projects include identity-building in digital media, visualizing war on social media, and building socio-political infrastructures for the secondhand clothing market. She is currently writing a thesis on applying Buddhist ethics to behavior change communications for ethical and sustainable fashion consumption.

Syed Zaman 

Syed Zaman, an advanced graduate student in Global Communications at the American University of Paris, is currently pursuing studies in various facets of the global fashion industry—encompassing historical, curatorial, psychological, social, and environmental dimensions. Drawing from his experience as an academic, creativity, and wellness coach, he immerses himself in research and practice with a commitment to exploring the boundless realms of expression and human potential—integrating elements of expressive therapies into his scholarly pursuits. Passionate about conscious living and consumption, he seeks to understand and promote sustainable practices within the fashion landscape.

Renate Stauss

Renate Stauss has been teaching fashion theory as well as cultural and critical studies in fashion at AUP since 2013. She has worked at a number of universities in London and Berlin since 2003 as a lecturer in fashion. Following her studies in Fashion Communication (BA) and Communication, Culture and Society (MA) Stauss completed her PhD on Dress as Therapy: Working with Dress on the Self in Therapeutic Settings (University of the Arts London). The focus of her teaching and scholarship lies on the sociology and politics of fashion and dress, including the following subjects: relationships between dress and identity, fashion under socialism, the emotional and sensory impact of dress, fashion for a sustainable world.

Sophie Kurkdijan 

Professor Kurkdjian has been teaching cultural and social history of clothing and fashion at AUP since September 2020. In 2018, she created the research network Culture(s) de Mode in collaboration with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs of France. This network of more than 350 members brings together various fashion players (researchers, designers, museum curators, archivists, journalists, students, etc.) and aims to develop research around fashion in France. Kurkdjian completed her PhD in 2013 on the history of fashion press and publishers in the early 20th century. She is currently working on the history of work and female workers in the clothing and fashion industry between 1880 and 1940.

Marine Chaleroux

Marine Chaleroux is a visiting lecturer at AUP since September 2023. She is a PHD student at the University of Angers, working on women’s emancipation in the fashion press during the 1920’s and 1960’s. She teaches fashion history in several other schools like Modspe or EFAP and supervises final projects for Master’s degree at IFM (Institut français de la Mode) and École nationale des arts décoratifs.

Stephanie Barker-Fry

Stephanie Barker Fry is a Senior Lecturer and Knowledge Exchange Lead at London College of Fashion’s School of Media and Communication, where she oversees academic partnerships with global organisations that generate co-created knowledge and outcomes that benefit people and planet. With a strategic approach to PR and communication across the fashion industry, she has worked as a consultant for almost two decades, establishing luxury brands, start-up platforms, media groups and non-profit organisations. Both as a practitioner and in her academic work, Barker-Fry has explored fashion public relations from an inclusive perspective by evaluating the impact and benefits of global communities through fashion strategies for both brands and society.

Sophie Barr

Sophie Barr is the Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Critical Practice in Fashion Media at London College of Fashion. With over a decade of experience in creative higher education in the UK, she brings a wealth of expertise cultivated during her previous career in film and media. Sophie is committed to reshaping the landscape of fashion communication in higher education through her teaching, scholarship and knowledge exchange projects that centre racial, social and climate justice.