Fashioning identities: an autoethnographic study of being-becoming a fashion design lecturer at a University of Technology.

Abstract

This visual autoethnography explores my process of being-becoming a fashion design lecturer within a University of Technology, highlighting the fluid and entangled nature of identity formation in academic contexts. Through a feminist new materialist stance, it considers how identities are performed, negotiated, and shaped through intra-actions with the human and non-human. Drawing on theories of performativity, materiality, and intra-action, I move beyond fixed notions of emerging academic identities. From this open, naked space, I embrace the opportunity to engage in multiple relationalities—remaining open to change, fluidity, and the non-rational. The ‘auto’ component of autoethnography positions me as both subject and object of inquiry, entangling my be(com)ing within broader sociocultural and historical contexts. The ‘ethno’ component critiques enduring institutional norms and culture that shape my experiences as a fashion design practitioner. The ‘graphy’ element connects my visual and narrative data to critically examine my be(com)ing as a fashion design lecturer. This analysis highlights the complexities of identity formation in navigating the interplay between academic and professional contexts. Embracing the ‘visual,’ I employ arts-based methods—like comic doodles, metaphor drawings, and concept mapping—to deeply engage with my lived experiences. These visual texts function as data, capturing embodied aspects of becoming a lecturer, and as analytic tools, surfacing cultural narratives and professional tensions that shape my identities as both practitioner and academic. This research demonstrates how arts-based research and visual methods in autoethnography can offer nuanced insights into identity and professional development, challenging traditional methodologies by foregrounding often-unspoken, affective dimensions of scholarly inquiry. This combination of methods, creative practice, and theoretical analysis works together to enrich the understanding of complex, lived experiences within higher education. The findings reveal that visual methods effectively illustrate the intricate processes of uncovering the self, making visible often-overlooked stories of experiences, emotions, and the entangled materiality of cultural norms. Through vulnerability, reflexivity, and creativity, this study challenges conventional writerly academic expectations, moving towards inclusive and dynamic approaches to knowledge production. This visual autoethnography shows practitioner-academics how they might integrate artful inquiry, artistic practice, and scholarly knowledge to enrich the understanding of identity within professional contexts.