Dr Naomi Braithwaite
Naomi is a Senior Lecturer in the Fashion Management, Marketing and Communication subject areas in the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University. In addition to her undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, she supervises PhD candidates within her research areas of material culture, fashion and identity.
Naomi comes from an interdisciplinary background having previously received a BA (Hons) in Theology and History of Art at The University of Bristol, followed by the MA in The History of Textiles and Dress at Winchester School of Art (University of Southampton). Following a career in the international designer shoe industry, Naomi returned to academia to undertake an MRes in Anthropology at UCL and her PhD titled: Shoe Design: An Ethnographic Study of Creativity at Nottingham Trent University. She has previously taught at the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) and Manchester Metropolitan University. Before returning to the School of Art and Design in 2015, Naomi was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Product Lifetimes at the Centre for Industrial Energy Materials and Products, which furthered her expertise in the fields of sustainable consumption.
Naomi leads a visual ethnographic research project, Shoe and Tell, which examines the relationships between footwear and identity from a life course perspective. She has had solo exhibitions at The Nottingham Writers’ Studio (2017) and in The John Lennon Art and Design Building at Liverpool John Moores University (2021). Naomi publishes in journals, book chapters and has presented research findings at international conferences. In addition to her academic work she writes for The Conversation and is an invited guest speaker on local, national and international radio.
Publications & Contributions
Journal article
BRAITHWAITE, N. 2021. These shoes were made for talking: documenting identity through the lens of footwear. International Journal of the Image. ISSN 2154-8560
MARRONCELLI, R. and BRAITHWAITE, N., 2020. #insta-fashion: how the digital revolution has affected celebrity culture and the British fashion retail landscape.Fashion Practice. ISSN 1756-9370
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2017. Sensing creativity: the role of materials in shoe design. The Senses and Society, 12 (1), pp. 90-94. ISSN 1745-8927
ROGERS, J.G., COOPER, S.J.G., COOPER, S., TINGLEY, D.D., BRAITHWAITE, N., MORENO, M., RODRIGUES, A. and SALVIA, G., 2015. Product longevity and shared ownership: Sustainable routes to satisfying the world’s growing demand for goods . AIMS Energy, 3 (4), pp. 547-561. ISSN 2333-8326
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2014. Materializing fashion: designers, materials, ideas and the creation of designer shoes. Critical Studies in Fashion & Beauty, 5 (1), pp. 53-66. ISSN 2040-4417
Book contribution
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2015. Case studies in creativity. In: Shoes: pleasure and pain [exhibition catalogue]. London: V&A Publishing. ISBN 9781851778324
Chapter in book
BRAITHWAITE, N. and MARRONCELLI, R., 2020. Too many shoes? In: Proceedings of the 3rd Product Lifetimes and the Environment. PLATE 2019 Conference, Berlin, Germany, 18-20 September 2019. Berlin: Tu Berline University Press. ISBN 9783798331242 (Forthcoming)
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2019. Fashionmap: situating style in a shifting landscape. In: L. PETICAN, ed., Fashion and contemporaneity: realms of the visible. At the interface/probing the boundaries (102). Leiden: Brill, Rodopi, pp. 42-68. ISBN 9789004368668
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2018. Fashion, fantasy, power and mystery: interpreting shoes through the lens of visual culture. In: N. MCCREESH and F. CARLOTTO, eds., Engaging with fashion: perspectives on communication, education and business. At the interface / Probing the boundaries . Leiden: Brill | Rodopi, pp. 205-216.ISBN 9789004382428
BRAITHWAITE, N. and SCHLEMANN, A., 2018. Product service systems: a viable business model for fashion brands? In: C. BECKER-LEIFHOLD and M. HEUER, eds., Eco-friendly and fair: fast fashion and consumer behavior. Sustainability in textiles . Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 132-143. ISBN 9781783538201
COOPER, T., BRAITHWAITE, N., MORENO, M. and SALVIA, G., 2015. Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference: editorial. In: T. COOPER, N. BRAITHWAITE, M. MORENO and G. SALVIA, eds., Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) Conference proceedings, [Nottingham Trent University], Nottingham, 17-19 June 2015. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University: CADBE, III. ISBN 9780957600997
ROGERS, J.G., BRAITHWAITE, N., COOPER, S.J.G., COOPER, S., DENSLEY-TINGLEY, D., MORENO, M.A., RODRIGUES, A. and SALVIA, G., 2015. Product renovation and shared ownership: sustainable routes to satisfying the world’s growing demand for goods. In: WEENTECH Proceedings of the Global Conference on Energy and Sustainable Development (GCESD2015), Coventry University, Coventry, 24-26 February 2015. Coventry: World Energy and Environmental Technology Ltd. (WEENTECH), pp. 20-27.
BRAITHWAITE, N., DENSLEY-TINGLEY, D. and MORENO, M., 2015. Should energy labels for washing machines be expanded to include a durability rating? In: T. COOPER, N. BRAITHWAITE, M. MORENO and G. SALVIA, eds., Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) Conference proceedings, [Nottingham Trent University], Nottingham, 17-19 June 2015. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University: CADBE, pp. 9-18. ISBN 9780957600997
CABRERA SERRENHO, A., SALVIA, G., BRAITHWAITE, N., MORENO, M., NORMAN, J. and SCOTT, K., 2015. The role of consumption in material reduction opportunities: the impact of product lifetime in supplying the UK steel demand. In: T. COOPER, N. BRAITHWAITE, M. MORENO and G. SALVIA, eds., Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) Conference proceedings, [Nottingham Trent University], Nottingham, 17-19 June 2015. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University: CADBE, pp. 38-43. ISBN 9780957600997
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2014. The Dr Marten’s boot. In: A. LYNCH and M.D. STRAUSS, eds., Ethnic dress in the United States: a cultural encyclopedia. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press. ISBN 9780759121485
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2014. Sequins, snakeskin and stilettos: shoe design and the study of material agency. In: P. HUNT-HURST and S. RAMSAMY-IRANAH, eds., Fashion and its multi-cultural facets. Witney: Inter-Disciplinary Press. ISBN 9781848883093
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2014. The flat cap. In: A. LYNCH and M.D. STRAUSS, eds., Ethnic dress in the United States: a cultural encyclopedia. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press. ISBN 9780759121485
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2014. The trench coat. In: A. LYNCH and M.D. STRAUSS, eds., Ethnic dress in the United States: a cultural encyclopedia. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press. ISBN 9780759121485
Conference contribution
BRAITHWAITE, N. and TRENCHER, L., 2021. Educating fashion: supporting a student led approach to a sustainable future. In: Responsible fashion series, University of Antwerp, 20-22 October 2021.
BRAITHWAITE, N. and SNOW, M., 2021. When the shoe fits. In: TILT Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2021, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, 14 September 2021.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2021. The Virtual Shoe Salon: a creative and active approach for teaching research and data analysis to fashion students. In: HEAD 21, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain [virtual], 21-23 June 2021.
SNOW, M. and BRAITHWAITE, N., 2021. The role of belonging and community in ensuring quality of learning in a digital environment. In: Qualifying the debate on quality in higher education, Virtual, 22-23 June 2021.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2021. The Virtual Shoe Salon: an interactive and interdisciplinary approach towards the co-creation of knowledge. In: Stories of digital success – look how far we’ve travelled, Nottingham Trent University, 12 May 2021.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2020. These shoes were made for talking. In: Eleventh Conference on the Image, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 9-10 September 2020.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2020. When the shoe fits: shoes, nostalgia and the embodiment of memories. In: Nostalgia: 2nd Global Interdisciplinary Conference, Bratislava, Slovakia, 3-4 July 2020.
BRAITHWAITE, N. and MARRONCELLI, R., 2019. Too many shoes? An exploratory study of footwear and sustainability. In: 3rd PLATE (Product Lifetimes and the Environment) Conference, Berlin, Germany, 18-20 September 2019. (Forthcoming)
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2019. If shoes could talk……exploring teenage identity through the lens of footwear. In: The Folklore of Shoes, Guildhall, Northampton, 3 May 2019.
BRAITHWAITE, N. and NG, C., 2017. Styling identity in the city: the art of fitting in. In: 5th International Visual Methods Conference (IVMC 5): Visualising the City, Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore, 16-18 August 2017.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2016. Vertiginously challenged. The art of walking in high heels. In: Costume and Fashion in Context and Practice Symposium, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, 5-6 December 2016.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2016. Dialogues through design: ethnographic explorations of creative process. In: Cumulus Hong Kong 2016: Cumulus Open Design for E-very-thing, Hong Kong Design Institute, Hong Kong, China, 21-24 November 2016.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2015. Fashioning stories: what clothing and shoes can reveal and disguise about the self. In: Marginalised Mainstream, Institute of English Studies, Senate House, University of London, London, 28 November 2015.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2015. Fashion mapping: capturing style and meaning through the everyday practice of dress. In: The Fashion Project: Exploring Critical Issues: 7th Global Meeting, Mansfield College, Oxford, 24-26 September 2015.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2014. Dizzy heights: the history of high heels. In: [conference], The Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh, 18 July 2014.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2014. In conversation with Kobe Levi. In: [conference], Northampton Museums and Galleries, Northampton, 21 May 2014.
MORENO, M.A., BRAITHWAITE, N. and COOPER, T., 2014. Moving beyond the circular economy. In: Going Green – CARE INNOVATION 2014, Vienna, Austria, 17-20 November 2014.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2013. Material transformations: designer shoes, creativity and the emergence of fashion. In: Fading and Emerging: Tracing the Mainstream in Literature and Popular Culture: Marginalised Mainstream, Institute of English Studies, University of London, London, 29 November 2013.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2013. Hidden heels: material traces of a shoe designer’s creative and cultural biography. In: Traces, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, 25 July 2013.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2013. Material representations of a shoe designer’s self identity. In: Dressed Bodies, Interdisciplinary Centre of the Social Sciences, Sheffield University, Sheffield, 10 July 2013.
Edited book
COOPER, T., BRAITHWAITE, N., MORENO, M. and SALVIA, G., 2015. Product Lifetimes and the Environment (PLATE) Conference proceedings, [Nottingham Trent University], Nottingham, 17-19 June 2015. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University: CADBE. ISBN 9780957600997
Exhibitions
BRAITHWAITE, N., WRIGHT, L. and CLIFFORD, R., 2021. Shoe and Tell: A Celebration of Footwear and Identity. Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, 21 September – 14 October 2021.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2019. My favourite white shoes…portraits of teenage identity. SRA Annual Conference 2019, Royal College of Physicians, London, 10 December 2019.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2019. The Graduation Shoes Project: a celebration of style and identity. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, 6-13 December 2019.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2017. Shoe and tell: a celebration of teenage identity. Being Human 2017, Nottingham Writers’ Studio, Nottingham, 23-25 November 2017.
Newspaper or popular journal contribution
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2021. The history of sneakers: from commodity to cultural icon. The Conversation.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2018. Clothing rental could be key to a stylishly sustainable fashion industry. The Conversation.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2016. From paragons to melting pots: the changing role of cities in the world of fashion. The Conversation.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2015. Health warning: five fashion trends that are terrible for you. The Conversation.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2015. The history of shoes has been frivolous, ridiculous and extreme. The Conversation.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2015. From crowns and lace to bubble bath necklaces – the morphing meaning of luxury. The Conversation.
BRAITHWAITE, N., 2015. What your shoes say about you (quite a lot, actually). The Conversation.
Research report for external body
SALVIA, G., BRAITHWAITE, N., MORENO, M., NORMAN, J., SCOTT, K., SUNG, K., COOPER, T., BARRETT, J. and HAMMOND, G., 2016. Understanding consumption: why and how do we use products? Leeds: Centre for Industrial Energy, Materials and Products (CIE-MAP).
Media coverage
https://www.wsj.com/articles/urban-outfitters-to-start-renting-its-clothes-11558436401
Website Designed & curated by Wesley J Morgan 2021.
Shoes & Identity 