Modest Fashion; commerce, community, controversy?

Reina has been Professor of Cultural Studies at London College of Fashion since 2006, joining from her previous post at University of East London where she was also Professor of Cultural Studies. Trained in Fine Art and Art History at the University of Leeds, Reina took an MA in English: Critical Theory at Sussex University. Her PhD in Humanities at Middlesex University on western women orientalist artists and writers marked a new development in understandings of gender and imperial cultures. Reina’s research remains inter- and multi-disciplinary, whether in cultural history or contemporary studies, and breaks down into two interconnected areas: feminist postcolonial studies (concerned predominantly with changing attitudes to Islam in the west and in the Middle East); and lesbian, gay, and queer studies (concerned mainly with the role of dress in the formulation of sexed and gendered identities). In recent years Reina’s research has focused on modest fashion cross-faith and the intersection of the fashion industry and women’s experiences of secular and religious cultures.

A prolific author, Reina has also acted as consultant curator on the exhibition Contemporary Muslim Fashions at the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums (September 2018-January 2019, touring to Germany in spring 2019).

Reina is Series Editor of two books series: Dress Cultures (Bloomsbury), with Elizabeth Wilson; and Cultures in Dialogue (Giorgias Press), with Teresa Heffernan. She sits on the Editorial/Advisory Boards for several journals, including Fashion Theory, International Journal of Fashion Studies, Lambda Nordica, Art in Translation. A frequent media commentator, Reina’s writings and opinion have appeared across the global media, most recently in the New York Times, le Monde, BBC World, BBC Radio, CBC radio, The Guardian, The Times, Marie-Claire magazine, Elle Brazil, Businessoffashion.com, Fortune.com, and Huffington Post.

Reina convenes the public talk series Faith & Fashion at the London College of Fashion, see http://www.arts.ac.uk/research/research-projects/current-projects/faith-and-fashion/