Dr. Elli Michaela Young, lecturer in Fashion and Visual Cultures at Middlesex University, specializes in Jamaican fashion and textile history (1950-1970). Her published work includes “‘It was Jamaican style, and they didn’t have anything like that in England'” in Design, Displacement, Migration: Spatial and Material Histories (ed. by Sarah A. Lichtman and Jilly Traganou, 2023) and “Creolized Pattern making: A Jamaican Perspective” in Patternmaking History and Theory (ed. by Jennifer Grayer Moore, 2020), with chapters forthcoming in the Routledge Research in Art History series and The Routledge Companion to Race and Design. Dr. Young leads modules examining fashion history through decolonial frameworks. As Caribbean Fashion and Design Research Network (CFDRN) co-founder, she elevates Caribbean perspectives within design history research. She serves as a Design History Society (DHS) trustee, furthering her commitment to expanding the discipline’s scope. Her archive of 80+ Caribbean-designed garments has been partially exhibited, creating visibility for Jamaica’s fashion heritage. Her research incorporates photographs taken by her father before leaving Jamaica in 1954, documenting his pre-migration life. These images serve as source material and emotional connection points, informing her exploration of how fashion and visual culture maintained Caribbean identities within diaspora communities despite geographical displacement.
Professional Affiliations
- Middlesex University
Membership Type
- Member
