Ms Kathleen Horton
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Design,
Fashion
Biography
I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Design and co-leader of TextileR, a research group addressing sustainability in the fashion industry.
With expertise in creative arts research, I bring a multidisciplinary approach to fashion research including material methods alongside traditional qualitative methods.
I also conduct feminist-based research into the gendered contexts of fashion production and consumption.
As an educator in fashion communication, my central aim is to motivate students toward understanding their role in the evolving context of creative industries. I prioritise critical thinking, collaboration and compassion to empower students to navigate the ethical complexities of fashion, find their voice and imagine their futures.
- I established the areas of fashion history and theory in Queensland’s first bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design.
- Between 2013 and 2018 I was Head of Discipline (Fashion) leading major curriculum redevelopment.
- As the Director of The Stitchery Collective (2010 -2018), I was awarded grants from major national and state funding bodies to support an ambitious program of socially engaged fashion projects.
- I served on the board of artisan between 2018 and 2022 and am currently Chair of The Nest Community.
Master of Philosophy (Queensland University of Technology)
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Visual Arts (Queensland University of Technology)
Personal details
Positions
- Senior Lecturer Fashion
Faculty of Creative Industries, Education & Social Justice,
School of Design,
Fashion
Keywords
Fashion, Ethics, Sustainability, Visual Art
Research field
Other creative arts and writing
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- Master of Arts (Research (Queensland University of Technology)
Teaching
Since establishing the Fashion Communication major at QUT, I have consistently developed curriculum that bridges the gap between practice and theory in fashion contexts.
DFB102 Fashion Communication
DFB206 Global Fashion Cultures
DFB305 Critical Fashion Studies.
Committed to addressing the ethical dimensions of fashion, my research and engagement is grounded in the communities in which I work and live. In my role as Chair of The Nest Community I support the strategic development of a women’s led organisation, that supports a vibrant circular textile economy. I was a member of the advisory board of the National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme, which led to the national policy, Seamless.
Publications
- Horton, K. & Payne, A. (2019). 'Imagination wove this flesh garment': fashion, critique and capitalism. In G. Sade, G. Coombs & A. McNamara (Eds.), Undesign: Critical practices at the intersection of art and design (pp. 186–197). Routledge. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/111867
- Craik, J. & Horton, K. (2019). A Spotlight on: Sustainable Australian Indigenous Fashion. Global perspectives on sustainable fashion, 191–193. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/129516
- Tuite, A. & Horton, K. (2019). Crafting symbolic value: art, craft and independent fashion. Creative Industries Journal, 12(3), 284–300. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/129678
- Horton, K., (2018). Just use what you have: Ethical fashion discourse and the feminisation of responsibility. Australian Feminist Studies, 33(98), 515–529. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/129513
- Horton, K., Ferrero-Regis, T. & Payne, A. (2016). The hard work of leisure: healthy life, activewear and Lorna Jane. Annals of Leisure Research, 19(2), 180–193. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/95226
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Kathleen, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Supervision
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Accidental Activism: Intervening in The Global Fashion Industry (2019)
- Genderqueer Fashion Models and their Representations of Gender in Visual Culture (2019)
- The Cultural Economy of Independent Fashion (2019)
- Framing Fashion Curation: A theoretical, historical, and practical perspective (2013)
- Unravelling Design: Fashion, Dressmaking, Ethos (2011)
Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.