Elsa Ball

Thesis title:

Negotiating fashionable identity through hair and the salon: implications for sustainability and fashion

This project explores the culture of hair and hairdressing through ethnographic observation of clients and stylists. The meaning potentials of hair are endless and fluid but lived experiences of communicating identity through hair are universal. A fashionable haircut is achieved via one-to-one negotiated experiences of identity construction within the community of the salon. I aim to increase understanding of how fashionable identities are managed and investigating the potential for forms of sociality in salons to become catalysts for sustainable clothing behaviours.

Research Area

Design

Conferences

Ball, E. (2019) 'Big Hair and Authenticity: Country Glamour, Self-Expression and Drag', Culture, Costume and Dress, 5-7 June 2019 - Birmingham, UK

Ball, E. (2019) 'Big Hair and Authenticity: Country Glamour, Self-Expression and Drag', Fashion, Costume and Visual Cultures - 9-11 July 2019 - Roubaix, France

Other Research Interests

Hair
Hair Dressing salons
Fashionable Idenities
Selfhood
Feminism
Fashion and sustanability
Alternative Fashion Systems

Teaching

Hourly Paid Lecturer:

Design Culture and Context Module of BA Fashion, Knit and Textiles courses - 2019
Promotion and Context Module of BA Fashion Communication and Promotion - 2019
Curiosity: Creative Exploration and Reaseach Module of BA Fashion, Knit and Textiles courses - 2020