Carol Tan

Dr. Carol Tan is a Senior Lecturer and Program Manager of the Master of Fashion Entrepreneurship in the School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT University. A prominent academic, she is frequently sought by the media for expert commentary on fashion entrepreneurship and industry trends.

Research and Impact 💡

Since 2003, Dr. Tan has been a leading researcher on key success factors for Australian fast-growth small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). Her work has been cited by outlets, including ABC National Radio, The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, and Business Review Weekly (BRW), and published in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and industry reports.

Dr. Tan's scholarly output, in collaboration with her postgraduate students, is consistently published in top-tier (Q1) academic journals, a testament to her success in mentoring them to publish at the highest level. She has also been a key investigator on competitive research grants, including a major partnership grant with the Queensland Government and Kmart, and funding from the Australian Fashion Council.

Dr. Tan is an experienced supervisor, having successfully supervised seven PhD students to completion and currently mentoring three PhD candidates. Her supervision expertise spans a broad range of interdisciplinary topics shaping the future of the industry, including:

• Sustainable Business Model Innovation
• Heritage Entrepreneurship
• Blockchain Adoption for Supply Chain Transparency
• Virtual Luxury Fashion
• Consumer Behaviour in Second-Hand Luxury Markets across diverse global contexts

• Circular Economy in Fashion

Beyond academia, Dr. Tan has undertaken consultative projects in customer insight and experience strategy. Her work focuses on identifying target segments, developing personas and journey maps, and conducting pain-point analyses to directly inform business growth and brand positioning.

She demonstrates a strong commitment to advancing fashion business education and industry practice as the lead editor of the forthcoming Routledge textbook, Fashion Entrepreneurship: Principles and Practice (2026). In this role, she led the book's development from conception, contributed to 5 chapters, and curated a team of experts to write chapters that integrate research and industry insights.

Dr. Tan's commitment to excellence in education is demonstrated by six teaching awards, including the RMIT University Program Award for Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching.

Under her leadership, the Master of Fashion Entrepreneurship program achieved recognition by being selected to represent RMIT in the AFR Higher Education Awards for excellence in industry engagement. She is also a strong communicator, having won the Academic Staff Three-Minute Presentation Award for clarity, interest-value, and presentation quality.

Selected Awards and Recognition

• 2024 School of Fashion and Textiles Student Experience and Engagement Award
• 2017 School of Fashion and Textiles Award for High Good Teaching Scale (GTS) Scores
• 2013 RMIT University Award for Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching
• 2013-2014 College of Business Award for High Good Teaching Scale (GTS) Scores
• 2011 Winner of the RMIT Business College 3 Minute Project Presentation
• 2011 RMIT College of Business Learning and Teaching Award (Program Category P5 - Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching)
• 2010 RMIT School of Management Nominee for the Learning and Teaching Award
• 2007 Finalist - RMIT University Outstanding Thesis
• 2005 Winner of Innovation Award (Student Category) RMIT Research Awards
• 2005 Finalist - Mary Kay Doctoral Dissertation Competition (Academy of Marketing Science Conference)

Dr. Tan is a trusted expert voice on the Australian fashion industry, frequently providing commentary on major industry trends and business strategy.

Print and Online Media (selected publications) 

• Tan, C.S.L. (2025, 13 March). How local fashion brands thrive in economic uncertainty. Ragtrader. https://www.ragtrader.com.au/news/how-local-fashion-brands-thrive-in-economic-uncertainty
• Luff, B. (2025, 6 March). Ally Fashion: Hundreds of jobs gone as more than 50 stores closed suddenly. 7 News Australia. https://7news.com.au/news/ally-fashion-hundreds-of-jobs-gone-as-more-than-50-stores-closed-suddenly-c-17947909
• Murphy, H. (2025, 1 February). A post-mortem of Australian fashion — how the Mosaic Brands business empire crumbled. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-01/the-demise-of-mid-range-fashion-rivers-millers/104876424
  Luff, B. (2025, 30 January). Millers and Noni B to be wound up as receivers for parent company Mosaic Brands fail to secure buyer. https://7news.com.au/news/millers-and-noni-b-to-be-wound-up-as-receivers-for-parent-company-mosaic-brands-fail-to-secure-buyer-c-17546183
• Luff, B. (2025, 26 January). Iconic Aussie fashion brand axed: 'sad' closure as the sign of the times. https://7news.com.au/news/rivers-axed-downfall-of-aussie-fashion-company-not-unexpected-c-17483835.amp
• Murphy, H. (2025, 23 January). Rivers was one of Australia's first online retailers. How did it fail? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-23/rivers-outlets-to-close/104852380
• Luff, B. (2024, 11 December). Why the plug was pulled on Australian fashion brand, Katies. https://7news.com.au/news/why-the-plug-was-pulled-on-australian-fashion-brand-katies--c-17052286 
• Murphy, H. (2024, 10 December). From $24 cardigans to closed doors — what went wrong for Katies? https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-10/katies-closure-is-a-touch-point-for-bricks-and-mortar-fashion/104709002
• Alam, S. (2024, 2 December). 'Fast fashion' company collapse leaves $20 million owing to Bangladeshi exporters. https://www.sbs.com.au/language/bangla/en/podcast-episode/fast-fashion-company-collapse-leaves-20-million-owing-to-bangladeshi-exporters/wf9mc9wkd
• Lawrence, S. (2024, 2 November). Mosaic Brands unlikely to be missed in regional Australia, analyst says. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-02/mosaic-brands-rivers-millers-closing-impact-regional-australia/104535416
• Kelly, C. (2024, 30 October). RMIT expert unpacks Mosaic Brands’ demise. https://www.ragtrader.com.au/news/rmit-expert-unpacks-mosaic-brands-demise?trk=feed_main-feed-card_feed-article-content
• Hoàng, M. (2024, 27 June). 6 cách để doanh nghiệp thời trang giảm thiểu tác động đến môi trường (Six ways fashion businesses can reduce their environmental impact), https://phunuvietnam.vn/6-cach-de-doanh-nghiep-thoi-trang-giam-thieu-tac-dong-den-moi-truong-2024062720412337.htm

Radio broadcasts (selected):

• Tan, C. (2025) ‘Australian fashion industry plans manufacturing boost’, ABC PM, 16 May. Interviewed by Nadine Haynes. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/pm/australian-fashion-industry-plans-manufacturing-boost/105303782
• Tan, C.S.L. (2024). ABC Melbourne. Melbourne Mornings with Justin Smith, 11/12/2024. 10:50AM
• Tan, C.S.L. (2024). RMIT expert unpacks Mosaic Brands’ demise. 2HD and 2SM Sydney. 30/10/2024. 12:04PM
• Tan, C.S.L. (2024). ABC Northern Tasmania, Afternoons with Joel Rheinberger, 3/10/2024 16:20 PM