Alex originally studied textile design at Nottingham Trent University before embarking on a series of careers in textile design, fashion design and then advertising. A propensity to consider and analyse fashion and advertising overtook her practical interests, which led to an academic career in the study of material culture. She received an MA with distinction in Material and Visual Culture from the department of Anthropology at UCL in 2010 and became the postgraduate researcher for the ESRC funded research project ‘If the Shoe Fits: Footwear Identity and Transition’ in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield (2010-2013). Between 2007 - 2015 Alex lectured on the Design Culture and Context module of the Fashion and Textiles undergraduate degrees at Nottingham Trent University and now lectures on the Bachelor of Fashion (Design) program at RMIT in Melbourne - helping young designers to understand and take inspiration from deeper theoretical and sociological issues associated with material, visual and digital culture. She takes a creative approach to research, which often involves using various types of media to both conduct and disseminate it. Impact is a constituent part of her research and she strives to make social and cultural theory accessible, relevant and engaging for all.Alex completed her PhD in the Department of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield in 2017. Examined by Dr. Agnès Rocamora and Dr. Katherine Davies, her thesis ‘This is Not a Shoe’: An Exploration of the Co-Constitutive Relationship Between Representations and Embodied Experiences of Shoes' used data gathered from the producers and wearers of Clarks Originals shoes to understand how and in what circumstances clothing becomes culturally significant, and how particular brands and styles become incorporated into the everyday lives and identities of those who produce and wear them.Key Areas of Research and HDR Supervision:Fashion, Footwear, Identity, Embodiment, Representation, Material Culture, Materiality, Affordance Theory.To visit Alex's RMIT staff profile click here.