Dr Rachel Matthews is an educator and researcher who sees fashion as cultural barometer, a way to observe changes in society.
Work & expertise
Originally from London, Rachel trained in fashion at Central Saint Martin’s and Winchester School of Art. She has worked as a designer for companies such as Whistles, John Lewis and Next, designed prints for Nicole Fahri and Donna Karan as well as creating fashion visuals for magazines such as Elle.
Rachel has also worked as a design and production consultant for fashion companies in Hong Kong, Tunisia and Mauritius, liaising between off-shore manufacturers and UK retailers.
Throughout her career, Rachel has shared her expertise through fashion education, holding academic positions at Chelsea College of Art and Middlesex University in the UK. Living and working in Australia for over a decade, she was head of Melbourne School of Fashion, before joining Australian College of the Arts.
As Head of School for Design at Collarts, she built a culture of collaboration across the design programmes, as well as establishing two new fashion programmes and Master of Design Course. After returning to the UK, Rachel led the Fashion Business & Management courses at Manchester Metropolitan University, before joining London College of Contemporary Arts. She continues to develop her expertise in sustainable fashion communications, whilst delivering industry training and building knowledge and expertise in next generation of fashion professionals.
Professional affiliations
CV Summary
2026 - presentSenior Lecturer / London College of Contemporary Arts
Curriculum consultant
Academic Board Member / Australian College of the Arts, Melbourne, Australia
2024 - 2026Programme Leader - Manchester Metropolitan University
Research and teaching across Fashion Business Division - with specific focus on responsible and strategic fashion management for a sustainable fashion future
2021 - 2024Head of School – Design, Australian College of the Arts
Academic leadership and operational responsibilities for nine design programs including fashion marketing, fashion & sustainability, interior design, photography, game design, animation, graphic & digital design. Development of Masters of Design.
2018 - 2021Head of Fashion - Fashion Marketing / Fashion and Sustainability
Development and implementation of both Fashion programs including curriculum development, academic leadership and resources management
Fashion and Sustainability (Diploma / Bachelor - Fashion & Sustainability)
Fashion Marketing (Diploma / Bachelor - Fashion Marketing)
2011 - presentFounder / Creative Director - Fashion Lexicon
Collaborative fashion communication activations, projects and commissions exploring the relationship between fashion objects, images and text
Selected projects:
Fashion Lexicon – Fashion Alphabet Challenge (Instagram @fashionlexicon)
Fashion Lexicon X Envelope Group
Development and production of fashion history resources
Fashion Lexicon X Little Tailleur
Collection illustrations for promotional cards and t-shirts
Fashion Lexicon X Antoniette Fusillo
Fashion illustration for Couture Bridal Atelier
Selected workshops and knowledge sharing:
2026
Decentralising Teaching & Learning in Fashion: Co-creating paper trails - mapping and walk-learning fashion
2025
Wardrobe Challenge Workshop: Project 333 (Manchester Sustainability Day)
2025
Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education: World workshop for fashion education for democracy and social justice
2024
Digital Multilogue on Fashion Education: World workshop on the power of mutual learning
2023
Responsible Fashion Roundtable: Collarts X City of Melbourne
2023
Sustainable Storytelling B2B Workshops: Melbourne Fashion Week
2021-2022
Freshies First Nations Creatives Fashion Lab: Indigenous mentoring project
“My professional identity has been re-shaped again and again…I have been changed by working to realign the creative and critical objectives of design education and continuing to work towards changes required for an equitable and optimistic future.”
