Stephen Wigley

Dr Stephen Wigley

Associate Dean Fashion Enterprise

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Profile photo of Dr Stephen Wigley standing inside and smiling at the camera. Behind Stephen is a glass wall displaying five mannequins wearing the same dress.

Contact details

   DSC | School of Fashion & Textiles

  Email: stephen.wigley@rmit.edu.au

    Phone: +61 39925 9548

   Campus: Brunswick

Programs

 Bachelor of Fashion (Merchandise Management)

 Bachelor of Fashion (Enterprise)

 Master of Fashion (Entrepreneurship)

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Profile photo of Dr Stephen Wigley standing inside and smiling at the camera. Behind Stephen is a glass wall displaying five mannequins wearing the same dress.

Contact details

   DSC | School of Fashion & Textiles

  Email: stephen.wigley@rmit.edu.au

    Phone: +61 39925 9548

   Campus: Brunswick

Programs

 Bachelor of Fashion (Merchandise Management)

 Bachelor of Fashion (Enterprise)

 Master of Fashion (Entrepreneurship)

More information

iD icon - ORCID

- LinkedIn

Dr. Stephen Wigley is a researcher, consultant and educator specialising in marketing, brand management and retail strategies for fashion and lifestyle industries globally.

Overview

Stephen is the Associate Dean for Fashion Enterprise in the School of Fashion & Textiles at RMIT University.

Fashion Enterprise at RMIT embraces and embeds the challenges of the contemporary Australian and global fashion industry, placing innovation, technology, sustainability and creativity at the heart of our approach to researching and teaching the commercial, entrepreneurial and emergent hybrid practices of fashion. The discipline is dedicated to advancing the knowledge, innovation and attitudes necessary to meet the challenges, and grasp the opportunities, of fashion’s enterprising future.

Incorporating two major programs and collaborating closely with industry in Australia and worldwide, Fashion Enterprise allows students at Bachelor and post-graduate levels to explore all facets of fashion and textile product development, distribution, promotion and consumption. Our pioneering Bachelor of Fashion (Enterprise) program allows students to specialise in fashion marketing, product management or retailing. Recognised as among the best of it's type in the world, our Master of Fashion (Entrepreneurship) program places innovation and creativity at the heart of fashion business creation and management.

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Industry experience

Stephen began his career in the UK fashion industry, working in management and marketing roles for brands including House of Fraser, Donna Karan and Hugo Boss. Since moving into academia, he has consulted with customer-facing businesses operating in the fashion, retail, automotive and travel sectors across the UK, Europe and Australia.

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Research

Stephen's research focuses on the creation, communication, and connection of brands with consumers and each other in the fashion and associated lifestyle product and retail markets. Having a background in brand management, he has a particular interest in how brands influence corporate and creative strategies within fashion businesses. On a broader level, his research also explores how fashion and lifestyle brands interact with individuals and communities around the World, particularly in respect of their reconciliation with emergent consumer attitudes, and response to customer interface technologies.

Research keywords

Fashion Branding, Fashion Marketing, Fashion Retailing, Branding, Marketing, Retailing, Brand Management

Research output summary

39

Publications

5

Media engagements

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Supervisor interest areas

  • Fashion business strategy
  • Fashion brand communications
  • Fashion and communities

Feature publications

A conceptual model of diversification in apparel retailing: the case of Next PLC

Journal of the Textile Institute, 102 (11)
pp. 917-934. ISSN 0040-5000

Wigley, Stephen M. (2011).

An Examination of Contemporary Celebrity Endorsement in Fashion

International Journal of Costume and Fashion, 15 (2). pp. 1-17. ISSN 2288-7490

Wigley, Stephen M. (2015).

Fashioning the Brand: a creative & commercial interpretation of the role of the brand in fashion

Futurescan 3: Intersecting Identities,
11th – 12th November 2015, Glasgow, UK.

Wigley, Stephen M. (2015).

Key publications by year

Expand all sections
  • Grassi, A., Swindells, S. & Wigley, S. (2018) the Art Foundations of Luxury Fashion Brands: An Exploratory Investigation. In: Engaging with Fashion: Perspectives on Communication, Education and Business. Carlotto, F. & McCreesh, N. C. (eds.). Leiden: Brill, p. 60-74 15 p. (At the Interface/Probing the Boundaries).
  • Grassi, A., Cassidy, T.D. & Wigley S. (2018) Luxury Fashion Brands Ownership Of Private Art Foundations: A New Way Of Conceiving Marketing, Journal of Marketing Trends, Vol.4, No.2, January 2018.
  • Grassi, A. & Wigley, S. (2018) Inclusivity is the New Exclusivity: The Case of Gucci S.p.A., 47th European Marketing Academy Conference, 2018.
  • Grassi, A., Cassidy, T.D. & Wigley, S. (2017) Luxury Fashion Brands Ownership Of Private Art Foundations: A New Way Of Conceiving Marketing, 1st Luxury Industry Symposium of the International Marketing Trends Conference, 2017.
  • Grassi, A. & Wigley, S. (2017) Gucci: Inclusivity is the New Exclusivity, International Journal of Costume and Fashion, Vol.18, No.1, June 2018.
  • Grassi, A. & Wigley, S. (2017) Transcending the Conventional Relationship Luxury Brand-Customer in Fashion Through Private Art Foundations, International Congress on Visual Culture, 2017.
  • Wigley, S.M. (2016) Fashioning the Brand – a creative and commercial interpretation of the role of the brand in fashion. In: Futurescan 3: Intersecting Identities. Creative and Print Service, Loughborough. ISBN 978-1911217084
  • Grassi, A., Swindells, S. & Wigley, S. (2016) Luxury fashion brands’ art foundations – an exploratory investigation. In: Fashion: Exploring Critical Issues, 8th Global Meeting, 5 - 7th September 2016, Mansfield College, Oxford.
  • Wigley, Stephen M. (2016) Exhibition Review: Le Fil Rouge, Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris 6th Feb-3rd May 2015. Fashion Practice: The Journal of Design, Creative Process and the Fashion Industry. ISSN 1756-9370
  • Wigley, Stephen M. (2016) The function of the brand in fashion: corporate and creative perspectives. Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield.
  • Wigley, Stephen M. (2015) An Examination of Contemporary Celebrity Endorsement in Fashion. International Journal of Costume and Fashion, 15 (2). pp. 1-17. ISSN 2288-7490
  • Wigley, Stephen M. (2015) Fashioning the Brand: a creative & commercial interpretation of the role of the brand in fashion. In: Futurescan 3: Intersecting Identities, 11th-12th November 2015, Glasgow, UK.
  • Goldthorpe, Charlotte, Evans, Claire and Wigley, Stephen M. (2013) Snibston Discovery Museum 'Acceptable in the 80s' Exhibition. [Show/Exhibition]
  • Wigley, Stephen M., Nobbs, K and Larson, E (2013) Making the Marque: Tangible Branding in Fashion Retail and Product Design. Fashion Practice: The Journal of Design, Creative Process and the Fashion Industry, 5 (2). pp. 245-263. ISSN 1756-9370
  • Wigley, Stephen M. and O'Connor, Eilidh (2012) The Chronological Development of a Fashion Retailer Own-Brand. In: 19th Eirass Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, July 9th-11th 2012, Vienna, Austria.
  • Wigley, Stephen M. (2012) Core Competence & Diversification in Apparel Retailing - the case of Next Plc. In: 19th Eirass Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, July 9th-11th 2012, Vienna, Austria.
  • Wigley, Stephen M. (2012) Market-facing Alliances in the Fashion Retail Sector – Managing Synergy in a Creative Industry. In: 19th Eirass Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, July 9th-11th 2012, Vienna, Austria.
  • Wigley, Stephen M., Thomson, Jennifer A., Teller, Christoph and Almond, Kevin (2012) The ‘Obesity Crisis’ and Fashion Retailing – a UK view. In: 19th Eirass Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, July 9th-11th 2012, Vienna, Austria.
  • Goldthorpe, Charlotte, Wigley, Stephen M. and Allen, Claire (2012) Armley Mills Museum Exhibition - Cut, Cloth and the Luxury Brand. [Show/Exhibition]
  • Wigley, Stephen M. (2011) A conceptual model of diversification in apparel retailing: the case of Next PLC. Journal of the Textile Institute, 102 (11). pp. 917-934. ISSN 0040-5000
  • Wigley, Stephen M. (2011) Fashion Marketing. Radar, 1 (2). pp. 22-24. ISSN 2049-4327
  • Thomson, Jennifer A. and Wigley, Stephen M. (2011) Understanding Self Advertising on Social Networking Cites: An Application of Festinger’s Social Comparison Theory. In: 18th Eirass Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, July 17-19th 2011, San Diego, USA.
  • Wigley, Stephen M. and Provelengiou, Aikaterini-Konstantina (2011) Market-facing strategic alliances in the fashion sector. Journal of Fashion Marketing & Management, 15 (2). pp. 141-162. ISSN 1361-2026
  • Wigley, Stephen M. (2011) Brand Britannia: 'Britishness' in Fashion Branding. In: Research Festival School of Art, Design and Architecture 2011, March 2011, University of Huddersfield, UK.
  • Nobbs, K., Anderson, S., Wigley, S.M. & Larson, E. (2011) ‘Fashion Designer and Architect Collaborations’ Design Principles & Practices Conference, Rome, Italy, February 2nd-4th.
  • Thomson, Jennifer A., Wigley, Stephen M. and Parker, Carolyn R. (2010) Kate Loves Topshop: Celebrity Endorsements and the Lovemarks Concept in a Fashion Retail Context. In: 17th Eirass Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, July 7th-9th 2010, Istanbul, Turkey.
  • Thomson, J.A., Wigley, S.M. & Stefanovic, S. (2010) “The Significance of Branding on Online Fashion Consumer Choice, 17th Eirass Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, Istanbul, Turkey, July 7th-9th.
  • Wigley, S.M. (2010) ‘Michael Gabellini and the Creation of Brand Environments”, University of Huddersfield School of Art, Design & Architecture Research Symposium, December 14th.
  • Wigley, Stephen M. and Larsen, Ewa (2010) The Architecture of Fashion Retailing: Michael Gabellini and the Creation of Brand Environments. In: 17th Eirass Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, July 7th-9th 2010, Istanbul, Turkey.
  • Dodd, Chris, Lavery, Emma and Wigley, Stephen M. (2010) Moderating the Effect of Fashion Brand Placement Recall Using Different-Sized Viewing Media. In: 17th Eirass Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, July 7th-9th 2010, Istanbul, Turkey.
  • Anderson, S., Nobbs, K., Wigley, S.M. & Larson, E. (2010) “Collaborative Space: An Exploration of the Form and Function of Fashion Designer and Architect Partnerships”, SCAN Journal of Media Arts Culture, Vol.7 No.2 (November)
  • Wigley, S.M. (2009) “Dimensions of fashion retailer internationalisation” British Academy of Management Conference, Brighton, September 15th-17th.
  • Wigley, S.M. & Chiang, C.L.R. (2009) “Fashion retail internationalsiation in practice: the case of per una in Taiwan” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management Vol.37 No.3 pp.250-270.
  • Wigley, S.M. & Moore, C.M. (2007) “The operationalisation of international fashion retailer success” Journal of Fashion Marketing & Management Vol.11 No.2 pp.281-296.
  • Wigley, S.M; Moore, C.M. & Birtwistle, G. (2006) “Money Can’t Buy Style; Managing Intangible Assets in the Luxury Fashion Industry” 13th EIRASS Conference on Retailing and Consumer Services, Budapest, Hungary, July 9th-12th.
  • Wigley, S.M; Moore, C.M. & Birtwistle, G. (2005) “Product and brand – critical success factors in the internationalisation of a fashion retailer” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management Vol.33 No.7 pp.531-544.
  • Moore, C.M. & Wigley, S.M. (2004) “The Anatomy of an International Fashion Retailer – The Giorgio Armani Group” British Academy of Management Conference, St. Andrews, August 27th-29th.
  • Wigley, S.M. & Moore, C.M. (2004) “Product and brand – critical success factor in the internationalisation of a fashion retailer”, 8th European Association for Education and Research in Consumer Distribution (EAERCD) Conference, London June 30th-July 2nd.
  • Wigley, S.M. & Moore, C.M. (2004) “Managing the Critical Success Factors of an International Fashion Retailer”, British Academy of Marketing Conference, Cheltenham, July 6th-9th.
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Public and media engagements

2021

2020

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

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aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

More information