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.
Frederica Brooksworth is an Academic, Author and Strategist whose work focuses on systems and processes for fashion organisations, teaching and learning in higher education, professional development, and the African fashion industry. She serves as a Regional Editor for Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases. She holds an FdA and BA in Fashion Marketing and an MA in Fashion Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the London College of Fashion, as well as a PGCert in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. She is currently a Doctorate of Education candidate at the University of Hertfordshire. Frederica is the Programme Leader for Postgraduate Fashion Business at Istituto Marangoni, where she oversees the MBA in Digital Transformation and Leadership for Fashion, the MA in Fashion and Luxury Brand Management, Fashion Buying and Merchandising, and Fashion Promotion, Communications and Digital Media.
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.
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.
Clare Lopeman is a British Fashion Designer, Researcher and Educator with over 20 years of pedagogical and professional experience both nationally and internationally. She is a graduate of Central Saint Martins and The Royal College of Art and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Clare is a Senior MA Fashion Tutor at Istituto Marangoni London and Visiting Lecturer on the Masters of Research at The Royal College of Art. Previously, Clare established and led the first transnational BA (Hons) Fashion Design Degree in Moscow, Russia, developing a prolific, globally facing fashion department within complex and challenging socio-political conditions. She is best known for her dynamic, graphic collections that explore the creative tensions and intersections across cultural histories, archives and political ideologies. Clare’s current PhD (RCA) and practice-based research proposes The Emotional Atelier as an artisanal, embodied form of empowerment and resistance within a future fashion system.
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.
Alexandra Saushkina, an Istituto Marangoni alumna, has built a distinguished professional portfolio across global fashion markets, working in creative production, styling, consultancy, and studio operations for luxury and international brands. Her experience spans leading creative workflows, managing teams, and delivering creative direction and production expertise. She holds a PG Cert in Higher Education with Distinction and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, underscoring her commitment to pedagogical excellence. This strong industry grounding directly informs her academic practice, where she teaches and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate students in fashion styling, creative direction, brand management, consumer behaviour, and creative research at Istituto Marangoni in London and Florence. A dedicated researcher, Alexandra’s work has been peer-reviewed and presented at international conferences, contributing to evolving discourse on fashion, culture, and art.
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.
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.
Emma D’Arcey is a regenerative colourist, textile designer and researcher with over two decades' experience working with high profile clients in luxury fashion and interiors. Her expertise in sustainable and circular design, stemmed from her MA at Central Saint Martins in 2000. Emma has worked on a range of research and development projects, including the first sustainable couture collection, "Ecoture," and co-founded ao textiles, a sustainable design consultancy. She has lectured at leading universities, worked as a research assistant in ciruclar design at UAL, and is a senior lecturer at IML. Her current research delves into the extraction of natural dyes from bio-waste and agricultural by-products sourced from British trees.
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.