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Kate Morris

Kate Morris

Profile

I am a third year PhD student focusing on the area of sustainable fashion, specifically the physical and emotion durability of our clothing. My academic journey began at the University of Leeds where I graduated with a 1st class honours in Fashion Technology (BA) (IND). The content of my degree included exploring fabric production, product development, physical textile testing, and sustainable business practices. For my undergraduate dissertation, based around durability testing, I was awarded the Kisby Prize for the best undergraduate in the area of fashion and textiles. For the 2 years previous to starting my PhD I worked as a Fabric Technologist within the outdoor clothing industry. This role allowed me to build upon my knowledge of the product development process with a focus on longevity and sustainability. 

In my first year, alongside my PhD studies, I was an Education Outreach Fellow in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Culture. In this role, I delivered informative and inspirational workshops in the area of sustainable fashion, empowering young people from all backgrounds to study Arts and Humanities at University. In addition to this, I was involved Priestley Climate Scholar programme where I was exposed to a range of interdisciplinary climate researchers. 

My project has had good media publicity inlcuding articles in Forbes and the BBC. In addition to this, I have appeared on different BBC radio programmes multiple times to discuss garment durability in the context of a project with Primark at the beginning of my PhD. 

Research interests

My current research interests include: 

  • The factors that influence the lifespan of a garment.
  • A benchmarking approach to measure the durability of various garments. 
  • How the concept of emotional and physical durability contribute to the utilisation and disposal of a garment. 
  • Exploring how a better understanding of durability can faciliate circular business models. 
  • Effective methods of reducing carbon and water usage within the Fashion industry. 

Qualifications

  • BA (hons) in Fashion Technology, University of Leeds