ZMJ Call For Papers: Inclusive Fashion

Inclusivity is an increasingly challenging, and challenged, topic, in research and in the public arena. In each sphere, contested terms take on specific stakes and characters. In fashion too, inclusivity’s various dimensions are debated. Among these dimensions, attention has been devoted firstly and particularly to the inclusion of diversity of body size, age, race or ethnicity, and gender in the shaping of accepted beauty canons, in their representation and more generally in the workings of the global ‘fashion system’. More recently still, disability has also entered the scene, and the catwalk: its inclusion is enabling reflections not only on the extension of canons and on inclusive representation, but on the very function of canons, on notions of care, body and vulnerability, prompting a questioning of the conditions of fashion production, mediation and consumption for everybody. However, the ‘rise’ of inclusivity also has its opponents, and dedicated scholarly attention is crucial to provide solid theoretical grounding and empirical evidence to inform, and keep alive, the public debate.

Since the mid-2010s, fashion has been forced to respond to significant shifts, becoming a catalyst for change and an essential platform for discussions on inclusivity, fundamentally transforming the industry's dynamics. Yet, the UK Fashion DEI Report 2024, reveals a gap between image and reality, highlighting stalled progress and the urgent need for structural change. In this context, it is crucial to reflect on and recognize the needs and aspirations of diverse subjectivities, including those explicitly or implicitly excluded from dominant models.

This special issue of ZoneModa Journal provides a platform for advances in the critical scholarship on fashion and inclusivity, with a particular — though not exclusive — focus on disability and the intersectionality of exclusions.  We invite theoretical reflections, case studies, including historical or contemporary analyses, with any geographical focus. Submissions exploring, but not limited to, the following are encouraged:

• Inclusive and adaptive fashion
• Media representation and inclusivity
• Fashion education and inclusivity
• Sustainability and Inclusivity
• Fashion activism
• Technological innovation and inclusivity
• Cultural diversity, beauty canons and inclusivity
• Disability aesthetics
• Universal/Inclusive design
• Contemporary and historical case studies of inclusive fashion
• DEI practices in the fashion sector
• Disability justice and fashion
• Museum accessibility and curation for inclusivity

Submissions

Abstracts of no more than 600 words, excluding bibliographical references (word*.docx format), written either in Italian or English, are required to illustrate the objectives of the paper, the research question(s) and the methodology adopted. They must be sent, together with a short biographical note, to: flavia.piancazzo2@unibo.it; zmj@unibo.it (with object: Abstract submission for ZMJ – Inclusive Fashion).

Authors will be notified of proposal acceptance by May 15th, 2025.

Abstract acceptance does not guarantee publication of the article, which will be submitted to a double-blind peer-review process. Submission of a paper will be taken to imply that it is unpublished and is not being considered for publication elsewhere.

Key Deadlines:

• abstract submission: May 1 ^st, 2025.
• notification of acceptance/rejection: May 15^th , 2025(notice of acceptance might include comments and requests for explanations).
• full-length paper (6000/7000 words) submission: July 15^th, 2025.
• comments of the reviewers will be conveyed together with the editor’s decision (approval with no changes, approval with major/minor changes and/or rejection): September 5 ^th, 2025.
• authors shall send the reviewed article to the editorial staff by October 1^st, 2025.

ZMJ Vol. 15 N.2 is scheduled to be published by December 2025.