Photo by Maria Lucchetti
By Anna Maria Gkini and Stephanie Avdeienko
At a recent Fashion Journalism Newsweek event at London Metropolitan University focusing on body positivity in fashion, artist and educator James Hunting spoke about the relationship between fashion, identity, and representation. Drawing from his experience both in the fashion industry and in education, he shared his perspective on how the industry has changed over time and why it still struggles with inclusivity.
Hunting is currently the Deputy Head of Design and Course Leader for the Fashion Textiles BA (Hons) programme at London Met. Alongside his role as an educator, he is also a practising artist whose work explores themes such as identity, recognition, the idea of the “other” and desire. These ideas influence not only his artistic practice but also the way he approaches teaching.
For Hunting, fashion education is about much more than learning technical skills. Instead, it should encourage students to understand their own identity and develop confidence in their creative voice.
“The core of our curriculum is about the student and their own identity,” he explained. “They should feel visible, seen and important, and feel that they have something to say.”
Photo by Maria Lucchetti
Before focusing on education, Hunting also worked within the fashion industry. He said his experience working in fashion during the 1980s gave him a long-term perspective on how the industry has evolved. From his point of view, fashion has had moments where it became more inclusive, but those moments have not always lasted.
“I think we had a moment when it was opening up,” he said. “But I think it’s snapping shut again.”
For Hunting, fashion often reflects what is happening in the wider world. When society becomes less open or less inclusive, fashion can mirror those same attitudes. While discussions around body diversity have become more visible in recent years, he believes the industry still tends to favour narrow beauty ideals.
He also believes that fashion schools have an important responsibility when it comes to challenging those standards. Education, he argues, should encourage students to question the traditional ways bodies and identities are represented in fashion.
“I think fashion schools absolutely have a duty to challenge these standards,” he said.
Another issue Hunting highlighted is the imbalance between women studying fashion and those holding leadership positions in the industry. While most fashion students today are women, the same is not always true when it comes to decision-making roles in the fashion world.
“Fashion schools today are about ninety-five percent women,” he explained, “but when you look at the fashion industry leadership, it’s the opposite.”
Looking towards the future, Hunting believes the fashion industry also needs to rethink how it presents fashion on the runway. In particular, he argues that couture shows should be understood more as theatrical spectacles than realistic representations of everyday fashion.
“Couture shows are really theatre,” he said. “They’re spectacles. Real fashion is what everyday people wear. Everybody wears clothes and everybody can look good in them.”
For Hunting, the future of fashion lies in recognising the diversity of the people who wear clothes every day. Through both his artistic practice and his work with students, he continues to encourage new generations of designers to challenge traditional standards and imagine a more inclusive fashion industry.
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