RESEARCH FOCUS
My research is focused on how value perceptions are shaped and built through cultural and economic systems and how understanding those mechanisms for defining value might be leveraged to drive more equitable dynamics across societies.
WHY FOCUS ON VALUE?
The heart of any question about social equity, environmental sustainability, or economic participation comes down to an understanding of what is valued in those dynamics and who or what has set the value standards. My research utilizes a systems-thinking lens for understanding participants in the value defining and maintenance dynamic and a co-productive approach to explore more inclusive means of defining and creating value for those not currently considered across a society.
WHY SYSTEMS THINKING?
All facets of our world are interconnected and interdependent. When you adjust a component of any system, that change reverberates over any number of other systems across space and over time. Isolating a problem, though an important part of the scientific process, is an illusion; any problem you may be focused on is part of innumerable systems and adjustments in service of solving a problem often have unintended consequences which can create new problems that must be solved.
Systems thinking generally, and the work of Donella Meadows specifically, offers functional frameworks for understanding and working within complex systems which I find compelling for grappling with big questions.
Edited Book Chapters
Gabriel, M. B. (2024, forthcoming). Overconsumption in the Global Fashion Industry: Desire, Power, and Capitalism. In A. Schramme, & N. Verboven (Eds.), Responsible Fashion: Can Fashion Save the World? Routledge.
Gabriel, M. B. (2023). Fashion, Sustainability, and the Free Market. In E. L. Ritch, J. McColl, & C. Canning (Eds.), Pioneering New Perspectives in the Fashion Industry: Disruption, Diversity and Sustainable Innovation (pp. 27–37). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Gabriel, M. B. (2023). The Economics of Exclusion: Why Inclusion Doesn’t Fit Fashion’s Business Model. In E. L. Ritch, J. McColl, & C. Canning (Eds.), Pioneering New Perspectives in the Fashion Industry: Disruption, Diversity and Sustainable Innovation (pp. 93–104). Emerald Publishing Limited.
CONFERENCE PAPERS
Endeavoring Policy for the Global Fashion Industry: Learnings from the New York State Fashion Act | Global Fashion Conference | Online & Scotland, UK | November 17, 2023
Fashion Academia x Fashion Activism: Co-creating a ‘Data for Sustainable Fashion’ Course with co-authors Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, Liv Simpliciano, and Kathleen Grevers | Global Fashion Conference | Online & Scotland, UK | November 17, 2023
Desire, Power, and Capitalism: A Theoretical Exploration of Overconsumption in the Global Fashion Industry | University of Antwerp | Responsible Fashion Series Conference | Antwerp, Belgium | October 20, 2021
OP-EDS
Climate Change Is Still Overlooked in Fashion Schools. It’s Time to Change That. | Teen Vogue | January 29, 2024
Innovation: A Cautionary Tale of the Fashion Industry | Branders Magazine | November 23, 2023
PRESENTATIONS
Policy, Politics and Fashion: The New York State Fashion Act | Yale University | Center for Business and the Environment | New Haven, CT, USA | April 11, 2024
Endeavoring Policy for the Global Fashion Industry: Learnings from the New York State Fashion Act | Global Fashion Conference | Online & Scotland, UK | November 17, 2023
Fashion Academia x Fashion Activism: Co-creating a ‘Data for Sustainable Fashion’ Course with co-authors Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, Liv Simpliciano, and Kathleen Grevers | Global Fashion Conference | Online & Scotland, UK | November 17, 2023
Understanding the Relationship Between Fashion and Capitalism | Glasgow Caledonian University | Yunus Centre for Business and Health | Glasgow, Scotland | April 6, 2022
Videocollage and Co-critique: Gen-Z Audience as the New Social & Sustainable Pioneers | Università IUAV di Venezia | Fashion Response-Ability: Transnational Dialogues and Local Impact | Venice, Italy | December 2, 2021
Desire, Power, and Capitalism: A Theoretical Exploration of Overconsumption in the Global Fashion Industry | Birla Global University | Bhubaneswar, India | November 22, 2021
Desire, Power, and Capitalism: A Theoretical Exploration of Overconsumption in the Global Fashion Industry | University of Antwerp | Responsible Fashion Series Conference | Antwerp, Belgium | October 20, 2021
INVITED TALKS
Sustainable Fashion + Policy | Yale University | Yale Center for Business and the Environment | New Haven, Connecticut, USA | February 15, 2024
Navigating The Changing Landscape Of Fashion Legislation | Sustainable Fashion Forum | The Nuanced Layers Conference | Portland, Oregon, USA | April 22, 2023
Sustainability | Columbia University | Retail and Luxury Goods Conference | New York, New York, USA | February 25, 2023
Policy in Sustainable Fashion 2.0: Where are We Now? | Texworld Conference | New York, New York, USA | January 31, 2023
Fashion and Politics | College for Creative Studies | Cumulus Conference | Detroit, Michigan, USA | November 3, 2022
Stakeholder “Talk Show”: Fashion & Policy | German Center for Research and Innovation New York | Future Forum: Fabricating the Future | New York, NY, USA | October 7, 2022
Disrupting A Global Industry: Legislating Fashion For The Environment And Society | Eva Haller Salon Series | Online | September 9, 2022
Fashion & Policy: The Legislative Push To Bring Transparency And Sustainability To The Forefront Of The Fashion Industry | Texworld Conference | New York, New York, USA | June 19, 2022
Fitting Fashion For The Future: How New York State’s Historic Fashion Act Hopes To Change The Fashion Industry For Good | Earthday.org | Online | May 13, 2022
Holding The Fashion Industry Accountable | Consulate General of Sweden in New York, the Consulate General of Norway in New York, and the Consulate General of Finland in New York | Circular City Week New York | New York, New York, USA | May 4, 2022
Moving The Needle On Sustainability Through Data Literacy + Fashion Education | Sustainable Fashion Forum | Unifying Solutions Conference | Online | April 22, 2022