Staff Profile
Reader and Deputy Head (Fashion)
In my current role as Deputy Head of the Manchester Fashion Institute I am committed to making Fashion education both accessible and aspirational. As a cross-disciplinary researcher I am interested in challenging how fashion is perceived as a subject, industry, method, mindset, and force for good. A first-generation student who found my way into Higher Education through my love of Fashion, I view Fashion as an enabler and a gateway into lifelong learning.
Academic and professional qualifications
I graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1993 with a 1st class degree in BA (Hons) Fashion Design & Technology. I have a PGCert in Academic Practice and was awarded Senior Fellow status with the HEA in 2019. In 2023 I was awarded my PhD.
Previous Employment
I also have over 20 years of international industry experience including senior design positions with River Island, Ted Baker, Levis, Dockers and Denham. In 2004 I established a luxury unisex brand, Avelon, that sold globally into stores including Liberty London and Jeffrey New York. This experience continues to influence my work in education, and I am fortunate to be part of exciting collaborative research projects such as Portrait Youth and Locating Menswear that bring education and industry together.
External examiner roles
Recent External Examiner roles include;
Nottingham Trent University, PG Fashion (2020 - date)
Falmouth University, Sportswear (2020 - date)
Amsterdam Fashion Institute, Amsterdam, Fashion Design (2017 - 2020)
National College of Art and Design, Dublin, BA (Hons) Fashion (2016 - 2019)
De Montford University, Leicester, BA (Hons) Contour Fashion (2013 - 2017)
I have also been an external academic advisor for the London College Fashion, Bath Spa University and Southampton Solent University.
Government and industry links
Through my work with the British Fashion Council, as a member of education steering committee, I regularly contribute to round table discussions on education policy and practices.
Membership of professional associations
Higher Education Authority, Senior Fellow (SFHEA).
British Fashion Council (BFC), Colleges Council steering committee member.
Fashion and Textile Colleges Association (FTC), committee member.
Research
Research Interests
My research examines fashion, gender, and youth culture, I am interested in the lived experience of young people and how dress relates to identity formation, but also memories of youth and how youth lives with us through dress and music. I enjoy working collaboratively, across disciplines, using creative methods that position dress as a conduit or method through which new narratives are told. I am an associate member of the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies (MCYS) and am currently Co-I on the AHRC funded network Locating Menswear.
I would be very happy to consider postgraduate supervision in these areas.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS & CONFERENCES
Jenkinson, J. (2023) 'Wardrobes and soundtracks: resources for memories of youth.' In Slater, A., Atkin, S., Kealy-Morris, E. (ed.) Memories of Dress: recollections of material identities. Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 99-116.
Jenkinson, J. (2023) Wardrobes and Soundtracks: Women’s Narratives of Youth, Experienced and Remembered through Dress and Music, PhD thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University.
Jenkinson, J. (2020) '‘Wear your Identity’: Styling identities of youth through dress - a conceptual model..' Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, 7(1) pp. 73-99.
Groves, A., Danielle, S., Jenkinson, J., Paul, O. 'Locating Menswear – A non-hierarchical exploration of place and community.' In Dress Devolution. Falmouth University, 6/7/2023 - 7/7/2023.
Jenkinson, J. 'Wardrobes and Soundtracks: Resources for Memories of Youth.' In New Research in Dress Histories Conference. Manchester Metropolitan University, 21/4/2023 - 21/4/2023.
Academic collaborations
Locating Menswear is an AHRC funded international network investigating the cultural and industrial connections between London, Liverpool, Manchester, and Milan, Italy, and how they have influenced the production, display, and consumption of British menswear. It is led by Professor Andrew Groves, Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive (PI) and myself (Co-I), with Dr Danielle Sprecher (WMA), Dr Susan Atkin (Man Met.), Paul Owens (Liverpool John Moores University), C.P. Company, Sevenstore, the British Fashion Council and UKFT.
The Portrait Youth project documents the personal and collective identities of youth through portrait photography. The project invites young people from Greater Manchester to take part in creative 'wear your identity' workshops that explore the communication of identity through fashion, styling and dress. Myself and co-founder John Earnshaw have worked with over 100 young people on the project and many collaborators including Zoe Hitchen, the GMCA, Central Library, Manchester Youth Council, Design Manchester, Grange School, Manchester Art Gallery, Amy Gwatkin, Deborah Jump, MCYS, Getting out for Good, Megan Powell, The Proud Trust, Heather Glazzard, Jack Arts, Reclaiming the Narrative, The British Muslim Heritage Centre, Maryam Wahid, Blackburn Youth Zone, C.P. Company, The British Textile Biennial, The Westminster Menswear Archive, Professor Andrew Groves, Neil Bedford, and Richard Kelly.
National Fashion and Business Saturday Club
The Fashion and Business Saturday club at Manchester Metropolitan University was set up in 2015 with support from the British Fashion Council and the National Saturday Club. The club provides an opportunity for 13 -16 year olds to learn about diverse aspects of the fashion industry in a University setting, on a Saturday morning. In 2019 myself and my colleague Kelly Joseph were awarded an IFFTI prize for our research into the positive impact the club had on its members.
Conference organisation
Conference Committee, New Research in Dress Histories Conference, Manchester Met. (2023)
Conference Committee, Futurescan 5, University of Leeds (2022)
Conference Committee, IFFTI, Manchester Met. (2019)
Grants
AHRC network bid (Co-I), ‘Locating 'the Absent Shadow': Exploring Connections and Encounters in British Menswear’, with Professor Andrew Groves (PI), £34,469, 2022.
ESRC festival of social science exhibition (PI), ‘Portrait Youth: Reclaiming the Narrative’, with Fatima Khan (Co-I), Alice Kettle, John Earnshaw, Maryam Wahid, £1000, 2022.
GMCA/Design Manchester funded exhibition (Co-I), Portrait Youth, with John Earnshaw and Zoë Hitchen, Manchester Central Library, Manchester Youth Council, £3000, 2017.
ESRC festival of social science workshop (Co-I), Identi-Tee, with Hannah Smithson (PI), Zoe Hitchen, Kelly Joseph, Rebecca Neary, MCYS, ESRC, The Childrens Society, £457.84, 2017.
Exhibitions
Jenkinson, J., Khan, F., Earnshaw, J., Kettle, A., Wahid, M., 2022. Reclaiming the Narrative: Portrait Youth, British Muslim Heritage Centre, 22/10/2022 - 27/10/2022.
Jenkinson, J., Earnshaw, J., Kelly, R., 2022. Portrait Youth x Dandy Style, Manchester Art Gallery, 7/10/2022 - 1/5/2023.
Groves, A., Jenkinson, J., Earnshaw, J., Bedford, N., 2022. Through A Lens, Nexus, Leeds University, 7/9/2022 - 8/9/2022.
Jenkinson, J., Earnshaw, J., Groves, A., Bedford, N., 2021. Portrait Youth x C.P. Company, Blackburn and Darwen, 30/9/2021 - 10/10/2021.
Jenkinson, J., Earnshaw, J., Glazzard, H., 2019. Portrait Youth x The Proud Trust, KAMPUS, 21/8/2019 - 11/9/2019.
Jenkinson, J., Earnshaw, J., Powell, M., 2019. Portrait Youth x Getting Out for Good, Manchester Metropolitan University, 26/6/2019 - 1/11/2019.
Jenkinson, J., Earnshaw, J., Gwatkin, A., 2019. Portrait Youth: Wearing Identity, IFFTI Conference. Fashion: ID. Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester Art Gallery., 30/3/2019 - 7/7/2019.
Jenkinson, J., Earnshaw, J., Hitchen, Z., 2018. Portrait Youth X Fashion:ID - Youth Transforming, Bunka Fashion College, Japan., 17/5/2018.
Jenkinson, J., Earnshaw, J., Hitchen, Z., 2017. Portrait Youth, Central Library, Manchester, 7/10/2017 - 30/11/2017.
Book Chapters
Jenkinson, JK., 2017. 'Unisex Fashion'. In Eicher, JB., Tortora, PG. (eds.) Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, Bloomsbury Publishing.
Non-Peer Reviewed Articles
Jenkinson, J., 2018. 'Cultures of Youth: New narratives of style and identity', Document 17, pp. 44-49.
Conference Papers
Andrew, G., Danielle, S., Jenkinson, J., Paul, O., 2023. 'Locating Menswear – A non-hierarchical exploration of place and community.', Dress Devolution, Falmouth University, 6/7/2023 - 7/7/2023.
Jenkinson, J., Kelly, R., Earnshaw, J., 2023. 'Dandy Style and Portrait Youth', 49th Annual Costume Society of America Symposium, Salt Lake City, Utah, 23/5/2023 - 27/5/2023.
Jenkinson, J., 2023. 'Wardrobes and Soundtracks: Resources for Memories of Youth', New Research in Dress Histories Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, 21/4/2023 - 21/4/2023.
Groves, A., Jenkinson, J., Earnshaw, J., 2022. 'Through a Lens – A comparison of contested masculine identities as reflected in clothing, place, and portraiture.', Futurescan 5, Leeds University, 7/9/2022 - 8/9/2022.
Presentations
Jenkinson, J., 2021. 'Portrait Youth: Documenting narratives of youth through styling and dress.', Human Stories of Dress Series, The Sartorial Society (online).
Eagle, R., Jenkinson, J., 2019. 'Labelling Ourselves? Fashion, Gender and Social Identity', HOME, Manchester.
Academia
Office Location
Room RG.07
Righton Building
Manchester Fashion Institute
Manchester Metropolitan University
Cavendish Street
Manchester M15 6BG
Office Hours
Please email for an appointment