Dr Lee Wright
Liverpool School of Art and Design
Faculty of Arts Professional and Social Studies
Email: L.Wright@ljmu.ac.uk
Telephone: 0151 904 1183
ORCID
Dr Wright is a specialist in Design History and Theory and currently teaches the history and theory of fashion design & fashion communication, including fashion photography. Her field of expertise spans material and visual culture, in particular popular culture studies. She has supervised PhD students jointly with History, American Studies and Art & Design. Her publications focus on a range of subjects from snapshot photography in the inter war period to gender and clothing. She is well known for a seminal work on the Stiletto Heel. (Attfield and Kirkham, 1988) Currently her research includes -
Vernacular design and issues of sustainability
Artisanal production and life stories
The still fashion image and digitalisation
Her doctoral thesis titled, ' Reconfiguring the Everyday: A Transdisciplinary Perspective on Designed Objects in Everyday Use' , hypothesised on the intersections of discourse between the plethora of academic disciplines which focus on the designed object.
Degrees
2014, University of Bolton, UK, PhD, Design History and Theory
1984, University of Middlesex, United Kingdom, Master of Arts, Design History
1979, North Staffordshire Polytechnic, United Kingdom, BAhons in Three Dimensional Design
Academic appointments
Senior Lecturer in the History and Theory of Design (Fashion Design and Fashion Communication), Faculty of Arts, Professional and Social Studies, The Liverpool School of Art and Design ., Liverpool John Moores University, 2014 - present
Senior Lecturer in Design Theory, Bolton School of the Arts, University of Bolton, 2004 - 2014
Senior Lecturer in Design History, Faculty of Art and Design, University of Ulster at Belfast, 1989 - 2004
Senior Lecturer in Design History, Winchester School of Art , University of Southampton, 1987 - 1989
Senior Lecturer in Fashion Design History and Theory (part time), School of Art and Design, University of the West of England, 1984 - 1987
Senior Lecturer in Fashion Design history and Theory (part time), Fashion Deign, Ravensbourne School of Design, 1984 - 1989
Highlighted publications
Wright L. 2020. Virtual Visuals: Exploring the use of Pinterest as a Tool for Designing in relation to Ideation Lane J. Visual Imageries, Visual Literacies Brill Press 978-90-04-43837-8 DOI Publisher Url
Wright L, Stevenson V. 2018. The Study Collection in the Time of Austerity and Digitalisation TEXT for the study of Textile Art, Design and History, 45 :33-39
Books (authored)
Wright L. 2025. Resurrecting the insignificant artefact to significance. Case study – revisiting activism in menswear. In Book of Abstracts. Artefacta 2025. ISBN 978-952-84-0771-3 Rick B. :88-89 University of Helsinki. Finland Publisher Url
Ash J, Wright L. 1988. Components of Dress Design, Manufacturing, and Image-making in the Fashion Industry Routledge. London 9780415006477
Journal article
Wright L. 2024. Bonnets and Balaclavas The Hat Magazine, 102 :32-33
Wright L, Stevenson V. 2018. The Study Collection in the Time of Austerity and Digitalisation TEXT for the study of Textile Art, Design and History, 45 :33-39
Wright L. 1998. Ulster and America; A Visual Language Writing Ulster, :103-117
Artefact
Wright L, Robinson P. 2023. Folk Costume
Wright L. 2020. Decussate
Wright L. 2020. A Home Rich with Possibilities. A sociological study of rabbit owners and the design of domestic rabbit homes resulting in one photographic project for the Instagram exhibition.
Wright L. 2020. A Home Rich with Possibilities
Wright L. 2018. 2 Anniversary screen printed textile artefacts to celebrate John Lennon Day (60 years anniversary of Liverpool Art School attendance)
Wright L. 2017. John Lennon Anniversary Scarf Print
Wright L. 2017. John Lennon Anniversary Textile Print
Chapters
Wright L. 2020. Virtual Visuals: Exploring the use of Pinterest as a Tool for Designing in relation to Ideation Lane J. Visual Imageries, Visual Literacies Brill Press 978-90-04-43837-8 DOI Publisher Url
Wright L. 2020. Virtual Visuals: Exploring the Use of Pinterest as a Tool for Designing in Relation to Ideation Lane J. Tracing Behind the Image: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Visual Literacy 133 :33-46 Brill. The Netherlands 9789004438378 Publisher Url
Wright L. 2020. Objectifying Gender:The Stiletto Heel Barnard M. Fashion Theory: A Reader Routledge. London and New York 9781138296930 Publisher Url
Wright L. 2020. Objectifying Gender: The Stiletto Heel Barnard M. Fashion Theory: A Reader :275-285 Routledge. London 9781138296930 Publisher Url
Wright L. 2015. The Vernacular as the Dialect of the Uncommon Cooper T, Braithwaite N, Moreno M, Salvia G. Product Lifetimes and the Environment :406-412 Nottingham Trent University. Nottingham 978-0-9576009-9-7
Wright L. 2013. Constructing Narrative: A Women's Voice Farrell G. The Photograph and the Collection: Create| Preserve| Analyze :340-366 Museumsetc. Edinburgh & Massachusetts 978-1-907697-86-9 Publisher Url
Wright L. 2011. Representations of Leisure: Snapshot Imagery and Memory Snape R, Smith D. Recording Leisure Lives: Holidays and Tourism in 20th Century Britain. :165-179 University of Brighton Press; Leisure Studies Association. Brighton 978-1-905369-23-2
Wright L. 2007. Objectifying Gender: The Stiletto Heel Fashion Theory: A Reader :195-207 Routledge. London 978-0-415-41340-4
Wright L. 2000. Textiles Spender D, Kramarae M. Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge 4 :1929-1930 Routledge. London 9780415920926
Wright L. 1996. The Suit: A Common Bond or Defeated Purpose? Kirkham P. The Gendered Object :153-162 Manchester University Press. Manchester & New York
Wright L. 1995. Objectifying Gender: The Stiletto Heel Attfield J, Kirkham P. A View from the Interior: Women, Feminism and Design :7-20 The Women's Press. London 9780704344518
Wright L. 1995. Student Responsibility and Learning - A Case Study Enhancing Student Learning: Section 3 'Implementation' :90-92
Wright L. 1992. Outgrown Clothes for Grown-up People Wilson E, Ash J. Chic Thrills: A Fashion Reader :49-57 Pandora / Harpers Collins. London 9780044408246
Wright L. 1989. Objectifying Gender: The Stiletto Heel Attfiled J, Kirkham P. A View from the Interior: Women Feminism and Design :7-20 Women's Press. London 9780704344518
Conference publication
Wright L. 2017. Expanding the Fashion Experience, Fashion narrative and the Digital Landscape Conference proceedings, Art Historians Association International Conference
Wright L. 2016. Assessing the Value of Image- laden On line Sources for the Ideation Component of the Designing Process Interdisciplinary-Net, Visual Imageries, Visual Literacies
Wright L. 2015. The Vernacular as the Dialect of the Uncommon or An Interventionist Module for contemporary Design Thinking Cooper T, Braithwaite M, Moreno M, Salvia G. Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) Conference Proceedings, Product Lifetimes and the Enviroment :407-412
Wright L. 2010. Photo Narratives and Issues of Performativity University of Bolton Research Conference
Wright L. 1999. Cultural Debate and Artefactual Terrains. Place defining Objects Abstract, Researching Culture
Wright L. 1996. The Gender Landscape: The Iconography of the Suit Abstract, Design - Pleasure or Responsibility?
Wright L. 1995. Trophies of the Terrain; Cattlehorn Furniture of Texas 1870 -1930 Abstract,
Wright L. The European Union and the Fashion Industry Abstract, The European Union
Wright L. Vernacular as the Dialect of the Uncommon Product Lifespan and the Environment
Wright L. Making a Memory, the Snapshot and the image in interwar domestic family albums. Leisure Studies
Wright L. Rethinking the Laggard and the point of decline in the Fashion Cycle https://ulir.ul.ie/handle/10344/9977/browse?value=Wright%2C+Lee&type=author, Product Lifetimes and the Environment Author Url
Other
Wright L. 2011. The Photographic Voice Beesley I. Voices: Eleven Photographers Eleven Stories Exhibition Catalogue, :6-8
Wright L. 2009. What are We Looking At? Clothing the Photograph and Identity LEAP Exhibition Catalogue, :72-75
Wright L. 2001. Mapping the Textile Landscape Montgomery A, Sheehan D. Fabrics and Fabrication Exhibition catalogue,
Wright L. Women Photographers and the Snapshot Aesthetic
Scholarly edition
Wright L. 1995. Student Responsibility for Learning - A Case Study :90-92
Exhibition
Wright L, Braithewaite N. Shoe and Tell: An Interactive Exhibition of Anthropology of Footwear
Wright L, Armstrong-Gibbs F. Photography of the work of designer Pam Hogg
Thesis/Dissertation
Wright L. Reconfiguring the Everyday; Developing a transdisciplinary perspective on designed objects in everyday use. Brabazon PROFESSORTARA, Redhead PROFESSORSTEVE.
Highlighted activities
Other Professional Activity:
Submission of AHRC Research Network Funding application 31st July 2018 in collaboration with the School of performative and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds. Decentring Fashion; the 2nd city and its performative identities. 2018
Conference presentation:
Expanding the Fashion Experience: Fashion Narrative Practices and the Digital Landscape, Association of Art Historians: Performance, Performativity and Fashion section, Loughborough University England, Oral presentation. 2017
Virtual Visualities, Ideation and Design Process. Exploring the use of Pinterest as a visual tool in design education, Visual Literacies and Visual Imageries - 8th Global Meeting, Mansfield Collage, Oxford, England, Oral presentation. 2016
Cultural Debates and Artefactual Terrains: Place Defining Objects as a Case Study, Researching Culture, North London Polytechnic, London, Oral presentation. 1999
Professional activities
Other invited event:
Interview - Recollections of Westwood retail environments in the 1980's.Exhibition at National Museums Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery., Walker Art Gallery exhibition on Vivienne Westwood, Liverpool, Interview for video to be shown at the Walker Art Gallery exhibition on Vivienne Westwood April 2025.. 2025
Drape as Design- The Everlasting Influence of Ancient Fashion, Natioal Museums Liverpool World Museum, Guest lecture and workshop on Drape in Fashion. 2023
Fashion Textbook manuscript proposal review, London (online), Invite by Bloomsbury publishers to review a proposal for contents for a 2nd edition Fashion text book - Craik, J. Fashion Key Concepts. (1st edition 2009). 2023
Perspectives on Sustainable Fashion (Transforming Fashions' Future), Royal College of Physicians, Liverpool and London., Guest speaker at a Mental Health Conference for the Royal College of Physicians. 2023
Sustainable Fashion and Current Issues of Style, Walker Art Gallery Liverpool, A Gallery Talk in conjunction with the exhibition 'The English Women's Wardrobe' at the Walker Gallery, Liverpool.. 2020
Sustainable Fashion and Current Issues of Style, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Guest Lecture in collaboration with the exhibition 'The Englishwoman's Wardrobe'. 2020
The Value and Impact of Archival Research in Design Education, Unilever headquarters, Port Sunlight, Wirral, Liverpool., An Illustrated Symposium Presentation at Symposium titled Archives in Context.. 2019
Fashion Geographies, Manchester Geographical Society, Presentation. 2018
The Value of Archives for Designers: in Association with The DNA of Helmut Lang, Constellations, Liverpool, Panel member to discuss Archives and their Value with particular reference to the Historical Significance of the designs of Helmut Lang.. 2018
Fashion Geographies and Collaborative Practice with LJMU Fashion Students - Talk Tuesday Series, Walker Art Gallery Liverpool, Public engagement talk as part of the Walker art gallery series. Talk topic Fashion Geographies: how fashion shapes, and is shaped by, its geographic location.. 2018
A Conversation on Photography and Violence: Shelf Lives Series, Liverpool Central Library, A public engagement talk and panel discussion focusing on war photography and Susan Sontag book 'Regarding the Pain of Others.'. 2017
Conference presentation:
Resurrecting the insignificant artefact to significance. Case study – revisiting activism in menswear, Artefacta 2025, University of Helsinki, Finland., Oral presentation. 2025
Sustainable Fashion and the future of well being, Future, Royal College of Physicians , Online for London participants and Liverpool on site, Oral presentation. 2023
A Snug Fit - Reshaping the 1950s, Shoetopia, Nottingham Conference Centre, Oral presentation. 2022
ARE WE THERE YET? A look in the rear-view mirror of feminist design history to help us map the messy terrain that might lead us to better design futures, International Design History Society: Hidden Histories Seminar Series on Gender, Design History Society Virtual Seminar series, Oral presentation. 2022
The Value and Impact of Archival Research in Design Education (Illustrated Symposium Paper), Archives in Context, Unilever, Port Sunlight, The Wirral, Liverpool, Oral presentation. 2019
Expanding the Fashion Experience: Fashion Narrative Practices and the Digital Landscape, Association of Art Historians: Performance, Performativity and Fashion section, Loughborough University England, Oral presentation. 2017
Virtual Visualities, Ideation and Design Process. Exploring the use of Pinterest as a visual tool in design education, Visual Literacies and Visual Imageries - 8th Global Meeting, Mansfield Collage, Oxford, England, Oral presentation. 2016
The Vernacular as the Dialect of the Uncommon (A model for urban sustainable practice), PLATE, Product Lifespan and the Environment, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, England, Oral presentation. 2015
Constructing Narrative - A Women's Voice, Research and Innovation, University of Bolton, Manchester, Oral presentation. 2013
Photo-narratives: Issues of Performativity, Memory and the Everyday Object and Image, Research and Innovation, University of Bolton, Manchester, Oral presentation. 2010
Making a Memory: The Snapshot as Object and Image, Recording Leisure Lives: Holidays and Tourism in 20th Century Britain, Museum of Bolton and Archive Services, Oral presentation. 2010
Cultural Debates and Artefactual Terrains: Place Defining Objects as a Case Study, Researching Culture, North London Polytechnic, London, Oral presentation. 1999
Landscaping the Gender Terrain: The Iconography of the Suit, International Art History Association, Helsinki, Finland, Oral presentation. 1994
The European Fashion Industry and Britain 1973 - 1992, Britain and Europe: Britain's Search for a Role since 1918, Institute of Contemporary British History, London School of Economics, London, Oral presentation. 1992
Other Professional Activity:
Exhibition contribution. Photographic documentation of Vivienne Westwood retail environments from the 1980s as image exhibits by National Museums Liverpool Walker Art Gallery for an exhibition April2025. 2025
Consultant reviewer for publisher Routledge/ Taylor for 2nd edition of book 'Fashion Marketing and Communications' by Olga Mitterfellner.. 2023
Peer Reviewer Peer Review for Journal of Industrial Ecology. Published 10th Feb 2022. Manieson L, and Ferrero-Regis T (Queesland University of Technology) Article titled Castoff from the West, Pearls in Kantamanto? A Critique of Second-hand Clothes Traditions. 2021
External Examiner for MA and MFA in Product Design, Spatial Design, Jewellery and Metalwork, Fashion, Graphic Design at Sheffield Hallam University. 2020
External Examiner Sheffield Hallam University MA Design, MFA Design & MSc Jewellery & Metalwork; Fashion; Graphic Design; Packaging; Product Design Oct 2020 - September 2023. 2020
Submission of AHRC Research Network Funding application 31st July 2018 in collaboration with the School of performative and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds. Decentring Fashion; the 2nd city and its performative identities. 2018
Consultancy Consultant Appraiser for garment donation for fundraising for St Gemma's Hospice, Leeds. Appraiser for 125 luxury brand garments for fundraising in preparation for specialist auction of Costume and Textiles. Auction held on 10th Feb 2018 at Tennant's Auctioneers, Yorkshire. 2017
External Examiner for Newcastle HE Institute at Newcastle College accredited by Teeside University. Commenced 2017 - 2020 Examiner for: BA Hons Creative Enterprise (Digital Media) BA Hons Creative Enterprise (Applied Arts) BA Hons Creative Enterprise (Fashion and Textiles). 2017
Member of a specialist cross Faculty research interest grouping in History at LJMU in connection with Cunard Maritime History 2017-1018. 2017
Member of an inter- disciplinary research interest group in Photography Theory at LJMU 2017-2018. 2017
External Examiner for Newcastle College, Higher Education Division for the BA hons Creative Enterprise Degree . Sept 2016 - September 2020. 2016
School of Art and Design Representative on the University wide Academic Skills Committee 2016-2019. 2016
Peer Reviewer Book Manuscript for Routledge Publishers, London and New York. 2015
Consultancy External Quality Assurance assessor/advisor for BA Hons Fine Art Bradford College for Leeds Metropolitan University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities. 2014
Consultancy External Quality Assurance Assessor/Advisor for Foundation Degree in Design and Postgraduate Certificate in Visual Arts for Leeds Metropolitan University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities (March and July 2013). 2013
Consultancy Design History section of 'A' level curriculum, NISEAC (Northern Ireland Schools Education Authority). 1996
External examiner for L6 undergraduate dissertations in the History and Theory of Art and Design. (BA Hons Design & BA Hons Fine Art) Dun Laoghaire school of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland. 1994 -1997. 1994
External examiner for undergraduate final year dissertations in History and Theory of Art and Design, Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Ireland. 1991 -1994. 1991
Co - director of the Design Research Laboratory at Liverpool John Moores University. From 2014 - July 2017.
Draft reviewer for Routledge Press. Occasional reviewer for book drafts on Fashion; Fashion Theory and Fashion History.
Edition reviewer for Bloomsbury Press. Occasional reviewer for books on Fashion, Fashion History and Fashion Theory.
External Examiner for final year undergraduate dissertations in Graphic Design and Illustration. University of the west of England, Bristol, Avon. 1990 -1993.
LJMU Internal Examiner (Viva Voce) for M Phil transfer to PhD in Business Studies (Fashion Marketing topic).
October 2017 Peer Reviewer for Palgrave MacMillan Press. Field of expertise - The Clothed Body as Social Intervention.
Quality Assurance examiner. Leeds Beckett University for: MA Visual Arts, Bradford College BA hons Interior Design, Harrogate College June 2015.
Team member for an Oral History project aiming to capture Alumni stories for Light Night, Liverpool 2017.
Award:
Nominated for outstanding Doctoral Supervisor Award by student nominees, Liverpool John Moores University Doctoral Academy. 2020
Nominated for outstanding Doctoral Supervisor Award by student nominees, LJMU Doctoral Academy. 2018
Nominated for outstanding undergraduate teacher award, LJMU. 2017
External collaboration:
http://lightnightliverpool.co.uk/, National Museums Liverpool & LJMU, Walker Art Gallery & Lightnight. 2018