Carol Tan

Research and Impact 💡

Since 2003, Dr. Tan has been a leading researcher on the key success factors driving Australia’s fast‑growth small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). Her work has been featured by major media outlets including ABC National Radio, The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, and Business Review Weekly (BRW), and published across peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and industry reports.

Dr. Tan’s scholarly output, often produced in collaboration with her postgraduate students, appears consistently in top-tier (Q1) journals, reflecting her strong record of mentoring emerging researchers to publish at the highest level. She has been a chief investigator on competitive grants, including a major government–industry partnership with the Queensland Government and Kmart, as well as funding from the Australian Fashion Council.

An experienced supervisor, Dr. Tan has successfully supervised eight PhD candidates to completion and currently supervises four more. Her doctoral supervision spans diverse interdisciplinary topics shaping the future of fashion and entrepreneurship, including:

• Sustainable business model innovation
• Heritage entrepreneurship
• Blockchain adoption and supply chain transparency
• Virtual luxury fashion
• Consumer behaviour in second-hand luxury markets
• Circular economy applications in fashion

Beyond academia, Dr. Tan undertakes consultative work in customer insight and experience strategy. Her practice focuses on identifying target market segments, developing customer personas and journey maps, and analysing consumer pain points to guide business growth and brand positioning.

She is also the Lead Editor of the forthcoming Routledge textbook Fashion Entrepreneurship: Principles and Practice (2026). In this role, she led the book from concept to publication, authored five chapters, and curated a network of expert contributors to bridge academic research with industry relevance.

Dr. Tan’s commitment to high-quality education is demonstrated through multiple institutional and national awards, including:

• RMIT Program Award for Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching
• RMIT Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
• Academic Staff Three-Minute Presentation Award

Under her leadership, the Master of Fashion Entrepreneurship program gained global recognition as the ICSB Global Entrepreneurship Education Excellence Award (Graduate Program Category) and was selected to represent RMIT in the AFR Higher Education Awards for excellence in industry engagement.

Dr. Tan's commitment to excellence in education is demonstrated by multiple teaching awards, including the RMIT University Program Award for Innovation in Curricula, Learning and Teaching and an RMIT Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (with Dr. Saniyat Islam).

Selected Awards and Recognition 🏆

• 2025 International Council for Small Business (ICSB) Global Entrepreneurship Education Excellence Award (Graduate Program Category, with Dr. Saniyat Islam)
• 2025 RMIT Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (with Dr. Saniyat Islam)
• 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 in the Australian fashion sector, providing regular commentary on fashion entrepreneurship, consumer behaviour, and industry trends for print, digital, and broadcast media.

Print and Online Media (selected publications) 

• Purcell, F. (2026, 10 March). The rise of cowboy core: what's behind it and what does it mean for Australian brands. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-10/dr-karl-how-things-work-cowboy-core-fashion/106336574
• Bowles, A. (2026, 20 January). Valentino's legacy as 'one of the last true titans' of Italian fashion. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-20/valentino-remembered-as-titan-of-fashion-industry-after-death/106247774
• 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