Savithri Bartlett

Dr Savithri Bartlett trained as a fashion print designer at the University of Edinburgh and completed her MPhil into seamless garments at the Royal College of Art. She sold her first collection of laser etched textiles to Chanel and began her collaboration with cutting edge British couturiers in London’s East End, developing new textiles for their Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter collections. Following years of practice in industry, she completed an interdisciplinary PhD with the Engineering Faculty at the University of Loughborough on a waterless textile-dyeing process involving selective wavelengths of laser radiation. Her doctoral thesis was commended for its originality and has been cited in numerous research papers.

More recently, reflecting her interest in the circular economy, Dr Bartlett has begun to challenge the fashion industry's wasteful methods of sourcing, manufacture and disposal, and has partnered with outdoor clothing company Patagonia, itself a committed advocate of recycling, repair and reuse. Collaborations include a company lecture on sustainable clothing, a student project, prize-giving, workshop and filming. Currently students are interpreting Patagonia’s new 'save our home planet’ mission statement, which was announced by Yvon Chouinnard, its founder, in January 2019.  They are interpreting its meaning not only in fashion, but across sectors including food, automotive and technology.

Following a recent visit to Sri Lanka - where some 350,000 women make up 85% of the garment industry's workforce across 850 factories - Dr Bartlett will study the role of small entrepreneurial businesses empowering women in rural areas.  Her current research is a comparative study of rural women in Sri Lanka and a corresponding sample in the United Kingdom.  The study will examine the gendered effects of rural development polices and regeneraton programmes in the UK and Sri Lanka on alleviating poverty and empowering women to reach their full potential. 

Dr Savithri Bartlett is Senior Fellow of Knowledge Exchange. Her area of teaching expertise is in Fashion: the Circular Economy and Supply Chain Management, the Cultural History of Dress and Sociological Perspectives of Fashion.    

Higher Education Teaching Qualification: Higher Education Academy Fellowship (FHEA)

Circular Economy

Supply Chain Management

UN Sustainable Goals

Climate Change 

Women Entrepreneurs

Haute Couture, artisanal to High Street 

Sociological Theories of Class, Race, Gender Identity and Consumption

Bartlett@FashionUoW

Funding awards

• 2019 'Circular Economy Concepts in Practice: The Implications for quality Yarn Manufacture in the UK': the viability of adopting a Circular Economy approach in the manufacture of high quality yarn at a sheep farm in Hook, for use in the fashion industry.
• 2009 'Role of the Craftsman': investigation into the extent to which cratspeople add value to the equity held in luxury fashion brands
• 2001 ‘GREAT EXPECTATIONS’ exhibition, Grand Central Terminal, New York. Funded by the Design Council: the Best of British Innovation.
• 1999 ‘FABRIC OF FASHION’ exhibition, Crafts Council. Funded by the British Council: Showcasing leading British fashion designers.

• Bartlett,S and Wintersgill, C (2017) ‘Empowering the Replicant: Visual and Haptic Narratives in Bladerunner’. In: The Erotic Cloth:  Seduction and Fetishism in Textiles. Bloomsbury: London.
• 2012 Braddock-Clark, S and Harris, J., 2011, Digital Visions for Fashion & Textiles: Made in Code, London: Thames & Hudson.
• Bartlett, S., in: S. Braddock-Clark and J. Harris (eds) 2011, Digital Visions for Fashion + Textiles: Made in Code, London: Thames & Hudson. (further details forthcoming)
• Bartlett, S., 2009, Developing Reflective Practice and Creative Journals in Fashion, Southampton Solent University.
• Bartlett, S. and Clark M., 2008, Doctoring Practice: practice-led research in art and design, Bath Spa University.
• Braddock, S. and O’Mahoney M., 2005, Techno Textiles 2, London: Thames & Hudson.