José Teunissen moves to the London College of Fashion

José Teunissen has been appointed Dean of the School of Design and Technology at the London College of Fashion (LCF) with effect from 1 January 2016. She has also been appointed professor in Fashion Theory at the University of Arts in London. Teunissen started at ArtEZ in 2002 as one of the first lecturers in the Netherlands to conduct research and develop theory in the field of fashion. She took various hot items from the fashion industry and used them as the basis for research projects, publications, and exhibitions, which earned her an excellent international reputation.

The School of Design and Technology has 15 Bachelor’s programmes, 8 Master’s programmes and a postgraduate department. Teunissen has been a visiting professor at the London College of Fashion since 2009. Her teaching and research remit will be to develop a strong, new profile and vision for the future at both the College and the University of Arts in London, and to oversee the development of new premises due to open in Stratford in 2020. This new building will accommodate all three 3 schools of the London College of Fashion.

Fashion Design Professorship
Teunissen started at ArtEZ in 2002 as one of the first lecturers in the Netherlands to conduct research and develop theory in the field of fashion. At that time, there was no tradition of international research into fashion. In 2008, she set up the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) research project ‘National Identity in a Globalised World’, working closely with Radboud University Nijmegen and the universities of applied sciences Saxion and HAN. José took various hot items from the fashion industry (including the effects of globalisation, sustainability and technology) and used them as the basis for research projects, publications in association with ArtEZ Press, and exhibitions, which earned her an excellent international reputation. The last exhibition, The Future of Fashion is Now, which was held at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in 2014, attracted more than 80,000 visitors. This exhibition is currently on tour in Shanghai and Shenzhen. TFOFIN China will be officially opened by Queen Máxima on 28 October 2015 during the royal family’s state visit to the country.

Fashion research agenda
In 2012, Teunissen was asked to head the research agenda for fashion from her position as a leading figure in the creative industry top sector. As the figurehead of CLICK NL| Next Fashion, she developed a strong network of researchers and teaching institutes in fashion and textiles. Creative practices and design research became an increasingly important part of the various research projects devised in the Netherlands. In 2015, the Centre of Expertise: Future Makers in Fashion & Design was set up at ArtEZ under her guidance. This Centre focuses on research into new materials and manufacturing processes in the fashion industry, and already boasts a portfolio of research projects worth more than € 1 million.

Although José Teunissen will be sorely missed at ArtEZ, her appointment at LCF is also seen as a great honour. José will continue to be involved in ongoing research at ArtEZ as a visiting professor.