Biography
Flavia Piancazzo holds a PhD in Sociology of Cultural and Communicative Processes from the Department of Science and Culture of Well-Being and Lifestyles at the University of Bologna.
Her research focuses on the relationship between fashion and society, with an emphasis on cultural sensitivity. She investigates the issue of cultural sustainability, paying particular attention to cultural appropriation and stereotypes in fashion. Additionally, after a period as a visiting PhD candidate at the Università della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano (CH), she is exploring the communication processes of Made in Italy through an interdisciplinary lens.
She is also a Junior Fellow at the CFC, Culture Fashion and Communication International Research Centre, within the Department of Arts (DAR) at the University of Bologna.
She has taught Fashion History at the Milano Fashion Institute and has been a guest lecturer in the Fashion Design Department at Accademia Italiana - Arte Moda & Design in Florence.
Previously, she collaborated as an assistant for the Transfashional exhibition, an educational and exhibition project conceived by the Austrian Cultural Forum in Warsaw and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, supported by universities worldwide, which took place in 2019 at the City Museum of Rimini, Modern Hall, with the support of the University of Bologna - Rimini Campus.
In 2017, she obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Culture and Techniques (University of Bologna - Rimini Campus), with a thesis on fashion and social integration. In 2019, she completed her Master’s Degree in Fashion Culture (University of Bologna - Rimini Campus) with a final dissertation titled Is Unkindness in the Eye of the Beholder? The Thin Line Between Cultural Appropriation and Inspiration, Racism and Provocation in Fashion: A Path and a Proposal for a Possible Solution, awarded the "Cultura d'impresa" prize for the best graduation project.
POSITIONS
- Adjunct professor, 2024 - present. Media Communication and Fashion Analysis - LM in Fashion Studies, Università di Bologna
- Adjunct professor, 2024 - History of Fashion. Master programme, Milano Fashion Institute
- Lecturer, 2021 - present. Crash Courses. LM in Fashion Studies, Università di Bologna
- Coordinator, 2023 - present, Crash Courses. LM in Fashion Studies, Università di Bologna
- Junior Fellow, 2020-present. Culture Fashion Communication Research Centre
- Editorial Assistant, 2020 - present. ZoneModa Journal ISSN 2611 0563 (online), Università di Bologna
- Scientific Secretary, 2024, Caleidoscopica Project, Fashion Studies, Università di Bologna; in collaboration with Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE), Buenos Aires
- Visiting member, 2023. DFC - Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano (CH)
- Tutor - Varlab (virtual and augmented reality lab) - Rimini, 2021 2022. Università di Bologna
COLLABORATIONS AND EVENTS
Staff, 2023. FASHION IN 3D. Decolonizing Deconstructing Decentering, ZoneModa International Conference 2023. University of Bologna, Department of the Arts - DAR, DamsLab, CFC (Culture Fashion Communication), in collaboration with CREATURE (The Centre for Creative Arts, Cultures and Engagement), London Metropolitan University. Organized by Mariella Lorusso and Simona Segre-Reinach.
Staff, 2021. Casa UniBo, Exhibition. Savignano sul Rubicone, SI FEST 30. FUTURA. Organized by: Bachelor's Degree in Cultures and Practices of Fashion - University of Bologna - Rimini Campus, International Master's in Fashion Studies - University of Bologna - Rimini Campus, PhD in Science and Culture of Well-being and Lifestyles - University of Bologna. In collaboration with: Department of Arts - University of Bologna, Direction and curation: Federica Muzzarelli and Ines Tolic.
Curatorial Assistant, 2019-2020. Transfashional Exhibition, in collaboration with University of Applied Arts Vienna, London College of Fashion, UAL, The Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, The Swedish School of Textiles - University of Borås, Master of Fashion Studies, University of Bologna, Rimini Campus. Organized with additional support from the Federal Ministry for Arts and Culture, Constitution and Media, Austria; Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Austria; Austrian Cultural Forum Milan; as well as the Netherlands Embassy in Rome and the Netherlands Consulate General in Milan.
CONFERENCES, LECTURES AND TALKS
Revival and Luxury Streetwear Made in Sanremo. The collaboration between Italian hip-hop and fashion through the small screen (Accepted for). University of Turin, November 2024
Fashion and Eurocentrism: New Projects to Address Socio-Cultural Changes. (Accepted for) Cultural Studies. University of Bologna, September 2024
Once Upon a Time 'Moda Mare': New Approaches in Online Communication of Made in Italy Fashion to Regenerate, Include, and Reactivate Places. (Accepted for) The Sea and Its Spaces in Historical and Philosophical Reflection from Ancient to Contemporary Times - University of Bari "Aldo Moro", September 2024
(Invited session) Philosophy of Fashion: Paths between Communication, Ethics, and Technologies, (Organized by) Veronica Neri & Emanuele Coco. XXV World Congress of Philosophy. Philosophy across Boundaries. University of Rome La Sapienza, August 2024
Italy, the Extraordinary Commonplace? Stereotypes and Imaginaries of Italianità to Communicate Made in Italy Fashion Online. Made for Outside Italy: Italianità through the Transnational Circulation of Audiovisual and Literary Products. University of Bologna, 2023
Developments of Cultural Appropriation in Mainstream Fashion Brands: Research Notes. FASHIONin3D Decolonizing Deconstructing Decentering. University of Bologna, 2023
Developments of Cultural Appropriation in Fashion: An In-Progress Research. FACTUM 23 - Fashion Communication: Between Tradition and Future Digital Developments. University of Pisa, 2023
The Unsustainable Lightness of Mainstream Fashion: Decolonizing and Deconstructing the Creative Process. V National Conference SISCC. University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 2023
Cultural Appropriation and Inspiration in Fashion, Special Lesson. Academia Italiana di Moda, Florence, 2023
Discussant, with Giulia Caffaro, International Research Days - FASHION NOW! [Panel 2 - Fashion and Self-Expression]. University of Bologna, 2022
Cultural Appropriation and Inspiration in Fashion, Special Lesson. Academia Italiana di Moda, Florence, 2022
Dressed Like a Goddess: The Crisis of Ethics Restarts from Celebrities' Reproduction of Religious Costumes. Celebrity in Crisis, Celebrity and Crisis. University of Bologna, 2022
Culture and Sustainability: An Interplay of the New Made in Italy Landscape. Fashion Tales, Catholic University, 2024 (with N. Maksimova)
The Necessary Conversation. (with N. Maksimova). ZoneModa Special - Sustainable Fashion Inc: The Challenges of Ethical Fashion, University of Bologna, 2021
The Necessary Conversation. Fashion Companies for the New Made in Italy. (with N. Maksimova). SIFest – The Photography Festival, University of Bologna, 2021
