Nimla Alam

Communications Specialist

Nimla (she/her) holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Memorial University in Newfoundland, specializing in marketing. Nimla is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in Fashion at TMU. She is also gaining valuable experience as a Marketing Intern at TMU's Asian Fashion Student Association (AFSA).

Nimla's research is dedicated to exploring the intricacies of Muslim fashion, delving into cultural differences and market dynamics within this niche. She aims to provide insightful advice for the industry's expansion and cater to the diverse demands of the global Muslim consumer base. In her spare time, Nimla enjoys shopping, grabbing coffee with friends, and exploring new restaurants. Beyond her professional pursuits, she is driven by a passion for contributing to positive change within the fashion industry.

As our Communications Specialist in 2023-2024, Nimla collaboratively led the organization of the journal's first Fashion Studies Network symposium, entitled "Unravelling Fashion Narratives". Alongside faculty advisor Nigel Lezama and Undergraduate Intern Kyle Shepherd, Nimla stewarded an international team of graduate student representatives, oversaw the adjudication of over 50 submissions, developed the symposium's two-day programme at Parsons The New School in June 2024, and oversaw the logistics of the first Unravelling Fashion Narratives symposium. As the primary contact for the network's communications, Nimla was instrumental in ensuring that everyone involved felt seen, heard, and received everything they needed to fully participate in the symposium.

Deanna Armenti

Editorial Assistant

Deanna Armenti (She/Fae) is an emerging gender fae, lesbian poet, zine creator, and textile researcher. She recently completed her culminating thesis year in the Fashion Master’s program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her research is practice-based and explores queer, kink identities through the lens of embodiment and affect to investigate the queer erotic form. Deanna’s thesis project, Ripple: A Wearable Environment, is a large-scale wearable textile installation based on a ripple on water which explores the dreamlike state that submissives can experience during BDSM scenes, called subspace. Ripple was displayed in the Design Fabrication Zone’s gallery space in May 2023 and was Deanna's first solo exhibition. She will be attending Toronto Metropolitan University in Fall 2023 for the Media and Design Innovation PhD program. For samples of her research visit @queer.textiles on Instagram. 

Deanna also runs her own queer publication, The Sapphic Printing Press (@thesapphicprintingpress), which publishes an ongoing photo zine called SAPPHIC featuring writers worldwide. The Sapphic Printing Press has been featured in Open Space Victoria's Small Press showcase (2020), the AGO Insider's Pride-ful Narratives article (2021), and at Broken Pencil’s Canzine (2022). Her creative writing has been featured in Feels Zine, Carousel Zine, and Sinister Wisdom. Her poetry zine I Know My Own Heart was nominated in the Litzine category at Broken Pencil’s 2022 Zine Awards.

Over multiple semesters, Deanna played an integral role to the Fashion Studies team by continuing our efforts in making the journal as accessible as possible and supporting the publishing of the journal’s first two Special Issues and their launches.

Nabra Badr

graphic designer

As graphic designer for the journal, Nabra oversaw the Call for Submissions, publication, and launch of Volume 2 of Fashion Studies. Nabra also worked on social media graphics to celebrate the launch of Volume 2.

Robin Chantree

editorial assistant and accessibility

Robin J. Chantree (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist and designer currently residing in Tkaranto/Toronto but originally from north-eastern British Columbia in Treaty 8 territory, historically the land of the Dane-Zaa people. They hold an MA in Fashion from Toronto Metropolitan University and a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Their practice spans visual art, illustration, fashion and graphic design, and often consists of them researching and mixing analogue and digital tools. They are interested in how clothing embodies historical and cultural norms, and how these ideas can be challenged through the materiality of garments. 

Robin was essential to ensuring the journal was as accessible as possible. Robin helped to write and add alt. text and image descriptions to all images on our website, social media, and articles. They also made great contributions to making our articles accessible through work with the Directory of Open Access Journals, implementing DOI links with Crossref, and assisted with the publication and launch of Volume 3.

Helen Chen

Graphic Designer

Helen is a new media artist, designer and aspiring researcher, currently working on her BFA in New Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. Over the last 3 years, she has worked with numerous organizations to help solve a wide range of communication + visual design problems in various fields, including: nonprofit data collection, fashion sustainability, and most recently, at the intersection of public health policy and experiential art. Her favourite ways of contextualizing design work involve user interviews, participatory design sessions, and/or research in critical theory and culture studies.

As Graphic Designer, Helen Chen made contributions to the journal’s social media and graphic design team by helping to further develop the design and conceptualization of projects, such as our Special Issues, within the journal and introducing a MailChimp newsletter into our wheelhouse of content.

Laura Dionne

Editorial assistant

Laura is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan Universities Master of Arts, Fashion program. Laura's Major Research Project focused on engaging with curatorial practices that challenge colonial narratives in fashion and dress exhibitions. Through her research, Laura developed a greater understanding of how museum professionals can portray historically accurate and inclusive representations of dress and fashion. Most recently, Laura is working at the Royal Ontario Museum managing image assets for an upcoming Patterns of Fashion publication. To connect with Laura visit her website lauradionne.com

As the journal’s Editorial Assistant, Laura Dionne furthered the implementation of editorial projects, including our Special Issues and the development of Volume 4. Laura also assisted in the journal’s growth, working on funding applications, communications, social media, and special events.

Alexa Jovanovic

brand identity designer

Alexa Jovanovic, known as The Braille Fashion Designer, works with the blind and visually impaired community to create fashion pieces with fully legible braille. She is the founder of emerging designer brand Aille Design (pronounced: eye) which is on the leading edge of how inclusive practices and co-design processes are shaping the way that fashion is evolving. Her company was just named by Newsweek as “the braille clothing brand changing the fashion game.” Alexa’s goal is to help normalize the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in all areas of fashion, from clothing design and modeling to accessible shopping environments and digital spaces.

Alexa Jovanovic was one of the first members of the Fashion Studies team and was the driving force behind the brand and visual identity of the journal when it was first conceived. She also oversaw the design, publication, and launch of Volume 1, and was responsible for creating the Fashion Studies website and promotional materials.

Jaclyn Marcus

Managing Editor

Jaclyn Marcus (she/her) is a PhD Candidate (ABD) in the joint Communication and Culture doctoral program at Toronto Metropolitan University (2018–2023). Jaclyn’s doctoral dissertation, entitled “Sartorial Narratives: Digitally Reconstructing Fictional Fashion Objects,” is located at the intersection of fashion, literature, and digital practice and is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Jaclyn is the Managing Editor of the open-access journal Fashion Studies, having been with the journal since its inception in 2017, and is an Executive Committee Member of the Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre, where she assists with the Centre’s ongoing research projects. 

Jaclyn has presented her research at international conferences and seminars, including with the Modern Language Association, the Association of Dress Historians, and the Canadian Fashion Scholars Network, among others. This Summer 2023, Jaclyn will be undertaking a Mitacs-funded research project entitled Modelling Collaborative Networks: Developing an International Fashion Studies, supervised by Dr. Ben Barry and Dr. Alison Matthews David in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University and Parsons School of Design. Jaclyn is passionate about fashion’s ability to impact individuals and society as a whole when used as a tool for positive social change.

Until 2024, Jaclyn was an active member of the journal since its conception. Working her way up to Managing Editor, Jaclyn had played an immensely central role in the journal’s creation and evolution, never losing sight of its trajectory in leading the small Fashion Studies team. She contributed to the journal’s growth from the very beginning, overseeing multiple Special Issues and beyond. Thanks to Jaclyn's numerous contributions to the journal's mandate and work, Fashion Studies has grown into a dynamic and unique voice in the field of fashion. While her excellence is evident in every issue she has overseen with the editorial team up to Volume 5, Jaclyn has left an indelible mark on the journal as a whole.

Rachel Rammal

editorial assistant

As the journal’s Editorial Assistant, Rachel Rammal made important contributions to the early stages of the journal by helping to implement the publication and launch of Volume 2, translating content on the Fashion Studies website into French, and assisting with social media for the journal.

Bianca Zanotti

editorial assistant

In her role as Editorial Assistant Bianca Zanotti contributed to the journal by assisting with the implementation of alt. text and social media content. She also contributed to the evolution of our Special Issues, Volume 3, and the development of Volume 4.