Staff Profile

  • Vicki began her career studying Fashion at Saint Martin’s School of Art, London, including a year’s work experience placement at Denim Knitwear company Artwork in Bermondsey, and graduated in 1994 and was shortlisted for Textile Designer of the Year Award and featured in Fashion Weekly.

    After freelance design work for Errol Peak in Floral Street in Covent Garden and selling knitwear samples through an agency, she took an assistant designer position at Jo-Y-Jo in Manchester.

    Whilst working in industry Vicki worked with colleges and later developed Higher Education within a Further Education setting. Vicki joined the University of Northampton as a lecturer in 2007, and took on Head of Department in 2009. In 2012-2016 Vicki led International Development across the School of The Arts before redesigning and leading the Integrated Foundation Year, for which she was awarded Changemaker Lecturer of The Year Award.

    Vicki studied an MA Design and graduated with Distinction in 2019 her thesis was entitled ‘The Application of Permaculture Principles into Textile Production’. Vicki welcomed Fashion back into her portfolio in 2018 and Leather Technology in 2022.

  • Vicki teaches across Fashion, Textiles Footwear and the Integrated Foundation Year and is personal academic tutor to level 6 BA Fashion, Textiles Footwear & Accessory students.

  • Vicki’s research focuses on ‘soil to soil’ production of natural dyes and bast fibres using permaculture methods of production. She is interested in the regional differentiation of materials, heritage, traditional craft and how these have the potential to reimagine the asymmetries of power. Successful funding bids around Northampton’s Footwear and Leather heritage and international comparisons have supported this research.  

  • Jump to: 2007

    2007

    This list was generated from NECTAR on Mon Apr 22 22:00:46 2024 BST.
  • Conferences:

    • July 2022 Dean, V, Atkinson, L “Foundation Years Best Practice” Key note. Higher Education Staff Conference, Warwickshire College University Centre.
    • March 2022 Dean, V.  “The Digitization of The Footwear Industry Post Pandemic” Global Footwear Executive Summit. World Footwear & Asian Pacific Leather Fair (APLF). Dubai World Trade Centre.
    • March 2022 Dean, V, Sinclair, J, Waring, S. “The Importance of the Symbiotic Relationship Between Higher Education and Industry”. Main Stage. Asian Pacific Leather Fair. Dubai World Trade Centre. 
    • April 2018 Dean, V, “Breaking Barriers, Building Impact: Social Innovation & Changemaking across disciplines” Ashoka U Exchange. Boston, MA
    • October 2016 Dean, V, Panel discussion ‘What does it take to make it work?’ Paper Presented. International Partnerships and The Arts ‘Case Study – Where Arts Meets Technology’ AUA Partnerships Conference: Focus on Dual & Joint Awards, Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln.
    • January 2015. “Where the arts meets technology” ‘Knowledge Exchange Partnership’ Bid with Indian Institute Technology Gandhinagar, India to run a symposium and staff /student exchange  Organiser and chair. British Council 14K
    • November 2014. “How to develop entrepreneurial & employability skills within fashion and textiles graduates”. British Council FEED-IN Bid with Istanbul Kemerburgaz University, Turkey to run a symposium around. Organiser and chair. 7k
    • March 2013. “The World at Your Feet” Conference chair and organiser in collaboration with Northampton Museum and Art Gallery & Northampton Borough Council. Arts Council Funded. 34K
    • 2012. Dean, V. “In Conversation with Guy West” Northampton Museum & Art Gallery Chaired discussion with audience as part of 25 years of Jeffrey West exhibition. 12th November October 2012. Textile Institute Leather Day, The University of Northampton.  Host.
    • 2011. Dean, V “Reflections – Formula Fashion, the commission of artists.  A case study” Formula Fashion Conference, The University of Northampton Co -organised and presented paper 15th Sept

    Exhibitions and projects:

    • 2015-2017 Social innovation project making bags for the Rugby World cup with HMP Onley Prison with The Textile Institute accredited modules for the inmates to achieve. Santander funded internships for graduates to support the setting up and running of the textile manufacturing unit. 8K
    • June 2015 Change ‘Maker’ Northampton Museum and Art Gallery. Organised and curated exhibition documenting the exploration of The University of Northampton’s Ashoka U ‘Changemaker’ Campus status as a framework in which to explore social innovation across Turkey and India, bringing together two significant British Council funded projects. This was focused around solving local and global social and environmental problems through the belief that everyone is a changemaker and can facilitate change within their own practice.
    • 2011/2012 Arts Council funded consultancy work, Champion for The International Footwear Foundation, a partnership between Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, NEP, University of Northampton.
    • 2009 “Calling concept Vera” Exhibited and curated at The University of Northampton Gallery
    • 2009 “Empirical” Staff exhibition, The University of Northampton Gallery.
    • 2007 Hills and the Three Deans, Exhibited and curated. Rugby Art Gallery & Museum.