Dr Anna Piper PhD
Senior Lecturer
- Department of Art and Design
- Art Design and Media Research Centre
- Culture and Creativity Research Institute
Summary
I am a Senior Lecturer in Fashion Management and Communication, a textile designer and researcher. Specialising in weaving, my research focuses on composite garment and pattern production, using hand, digital and hybrid production techniques, with an emphasis on sustainable production, consumption and development. My current research encompasses the sustainable development of indigenous textile production in Guatemala and explores the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Guatemalan textile artisans. I am interested in how indigenous approaches to clothing production and use can inform Western fashion practices.
About
Having studied Textile Design (BA) and Textile Design Innovation (MA), I completed my practice-led PhD in 2019. Prior to my studies, I worked in various industries including retail, and university administration, employability and student support at Sheffield Hallam University. Working as a lecturer/senior lecturer since 2013, I have taught across fashion management and communication, textile design, fashion design, and fashion knitwear design, as well as supervising final year dissertations and postgraduate research projects. I specialise in computer aided design, design responsibility, cultural theory and textile design.
Since re-joining Sheffield Hallam University as a lecturer in 2021, my teaching centres around fashion management, fashion communication, cultural and design theory, and critical research. I continue to undertake research in collaboration with partners at Nottingham Trent University, the Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Clothing and Textiles, and UK, US and Guatemala-based social enterprises working with textile artisans in Guatemala. I have exhibited work nationally and internationally and am an active woven textile design practitioner.
Teaching
College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences
Subject area: Fashion and Fashion Management and Communication
Courses taught:
- Fashion Management and Communication
Modules taught:
- Fashion Management 1
- Fashion Communication 1
- Graduate Portfolio
Research
SPECIALIST AREAS OF INTEREST
Textile Design
Composite (3D) Garment Weaving
Zero Waste Design
Social and Sustainable Textile Innovation
Hand and Digital Craft
Embodied Making
Visual Communication of Practice-led Research
Reflective Practice
CONFERENCES
PIPER, A., TOWNSEND, K. & JABUR, L. (2022). Resilience, Resourcefulness and Creativity: Learning from the diversification of Guatemalan artisans during the pandemic to sustain textile traditions. Futurescan 5: Conscious Communities. Leeds: Nexus, University of Leeds. 07-08 September 2022.
TOWNSEND, K. & PIPER, A. (2021). Identity and Innovation: The Role of Traje in Sustainable Production and Use. Textile and Place. Manchester: Manchester School of Art (online). 15 October 2021.
TOWNSEND, K. & PIPER, A. (2020). Sustaining Ixchel’s Legacy: Ethnographic research into artisanal weaving practices in Guatemala. School of Art and Design Research Conference. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University. 19 June 2020.
PIPER, A. (2019). “But it doesn’t link to my practice”: Demystifying the link between theory and practice. Visual Delights 10. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University. 26 April 2019.
PIPER, A. & WALKER, S. (2017). The Textile Designer 2.0: A Workshop Guide for Future Workshop Facilitators in Smart Textiles. Intersections 2017. London: Loughborough University. 13 September 2017.
PIPER, A. (2016). Code, Decode, Recode: Constructing, Deconstructing and Reconstructing Knowledge Through Making. DRS Conference. Brighton: University of Brighton. 28 – 30 June 2016.
PIPER, A. (2015). Parallel Lines of Thinking and Making: Developing a Composite Garment Weaving System. ADBE Doctoral Conference. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University. 8 & 9 June 2015.
PIPER, A. (2015). From Sportswear to Sports Fashion: Function in fashion and textile design. Visual Delights 6. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University. 24 April 2015.
PIPER, A. (2015). Designing and Constructing Composite Garments Integrating Smart Textiles. Arcintex. Nottingham: Antenna. 26 & 27 February 2015.
PIPER, A & TOWNSEND, K. (2014). Crafting the Composite Garment: The Role of Hand-weaving in Digital Creation. Transitions: Rethinking Textiles and Surfaces. Huddersfield: University of Huddersfield. 26 & 27 November 2014.
EXHIBITIONS
TOWNSEND, K., PIPER, A. & JABUR, L. (2022). Crafting Textiles Through the Covid-19 Crisis: Stories from Guatemala [Film]. Futurescan 5: Conscious Communities. Leeds: Nexus, University of Leeds. 07-08 September 2022.
TOWNSEND, K., PIPER, A. & JABUR, L. (2022). Bonington Vitrines #18: Story Cloth. Nottingham: Bonington Gallery, Nottingham Trent University. 26 March – 21 May 2022.
PIPER, A. (2018). Cut, Colour and Craftsmanship. Quebec: Societe d’art at d’histoire de Beauport. September – October 2018.
RATNAYAKA, A., PIPER, A. & TOWNSEND, K. (2012). Woven Illuminated Garment. Future Textiles Exhibition. London: Palace of Westminster. December 2012.
Publications
Journal articles
Piper, A., Townsend, K., & Jabur, L. (2023). Resilience, Resourcefulness and Creativity: Learning from the Diversification of Guatemalan Artisans during the Pandemic to Sustain Textile Traditions. Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice. http://doi.org/10.1080/20511787.2023.2212515
Hunt, K., Piper, A., & Worker, G. (2020). The importance of sensorial empathy and the language of touch when crafting textiles for people who are visually impaired. Craft Research, 11 (1), 57-77. http://doi.org/10.1386/crre_00015_1
Piper, A., & Townsend, K. (2015). Crafting the Composite Garment: The role of hand weaving in digital creation. Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice, 3 (1-2), 3-26. http://doi.org/10.1080/20511787.2015.1127037
Conference papers
Piper, A. (2016). Code, Decode, Recode: Constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing knowledge through making. DRS2016: Future-Focused Thinking. http://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2016.415
Theses / Dissertations
Piper, A. (2019). Material relationships: the textile and the garment, the maker and the machine. Developing a composite pattern weaving system. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Townsend, K., Braithwaite, N., & Dias, T.