Dr Rachel Matthews is an educator and researcher who sees fashion as cultural barometer, a way to track change in society.
Work & expertise
Originally from London, Rachel trained in fashion at Central Saint Martin’s and Winchester School of Art. She has worked as a designer for companies such as Whistles, John Lewis and Next as well as creating fashion visuals for magazines such as Elle. Rachel has also worked as a design and production consultant for fashion companies in Hong Kong, Tunisia and Mauritius.
Throughout her career, Rachel has been engaged in fashion education, holding academic positions at Chelsea College of Art and Middlesex University in the UK. In Australia, she was head of Melbourne School of Fashion, before joining Australian College of the Arts. As Head of School at Collarts, she developed two new fashion programmes and a Masters in Design. Rachel is now the Programme Leader for Fashion Business courses at Manchester Fashion Institute / Manchester Metropolitan University, pursuing research into fashion narratives for sustainable behaviour change and teaching the next generation of fashion professionals.
CV Summary
June 2024 - presentSenior Lecturer - Manchester Fashion Institute / Manchester Metropolitan University
Research and teaching across Fashion Business Division - with specific focus on responsible and strategic fashion management for a sustainable fashion future
Manchester Fashion Institute
October 2021 - June 2024Head of School - Design Australian College of the Arts
Academic leadership and operational responsibilities for nine design programs including fashion, interior design, photography, game design, animation, graphic & digital design
January 2018 - October 2021Head of Fashion - Fashion Marketing Fashion and Sustainability
Development and implementation of both Fashion programs including curriculum development, academic leadership and resources management
Fashion and Sustainability (Diploma / Bachelor - Fashion & Sustainability)
Fashion Marketing (Diploma / Bachelor - Fashion Marketing)
2011 - PresentFounder / Creative Director
Collaborative fashion communication projects and commissions exploring the relationship between fashion objects, images and text
Selected projects:
Fashion Lexicon X Envelope Group
Development and production of fashion history resources
Fashion Lexicon X Little Tailleur
Development of promotional illustrations and t-shirts
Fashion Lexicon
Selected workshops and knowledge sharing:
Freshies First Nations Creatives Fashion Lab with Jaeden Williams (2021-22)
Education Roundtable: A Modern Design Education RMIT University (2017)
Sustainable Storytelling B2B Workshop – Melbourne Fashion Week (2023)
Responsible Fashion Roundtable – Collarts X City of Melbourne (2023)
