Scholar Interview | Fairuzah Atchulo: Neocolonialism and the Global Fashion System Through the Lens of Size

Fairuzah Atchulo

A PhD candidate in Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam, Fairuzah Atchulo holds a Master's degree in Development Policy from KDI School of Public Policy and Development, a dual Master's degree jointly awarded by the University of Groningen and the University of Uppsala, and a Bachelor's degree in International Studies, majoring in International Relations and East Asian Studies, from Ewha Womans University in South Korea. She is currently affiliated with the "China Africa Fashion Power" project, funded by the Amsterdam Academy for Cultural Analysis (ASCA ) and the European Research Council . In this project, she focuses on the China-Africa global fashion system in Kenya and Mozambique, with fieldwork spanning Kenya, Mozambique, and China.

Part 1: Academic Background

Wang Xinlu: Could you briefly introduce your academic background?

Fairuzah Atchulo: I received my undergraduate degree from Ewha Womans University in South Korea, and then pursued a master's degree in Development Policy at the Korea Development Institute's School of Public Policy and Management. Following that master's, I went to Europe to pursue a second master's degree, which focused on international relations and politics.

My second master's program was in European culture studies, but it wasn't just about cultural studies; it also included institutional studies of the European Union. Many of my classmates went on to work in the EU or in related fields after graduation. So fashion was a completely new field for me, and participating in social science research was also a new experience. However, I think my previous academic background was helpful, bringing some different perspectives.

Wang Xinlu: Did your research interests change during your second master's degree studies?

Fairuzah Atchulo: Yes, the change is significant. I've shifted from studying EU institutions, laws, and policies to studying fashion—you could say I've moved from a macro-level, institutional perspective to a micro-level, everyday practice. I used to think about things from a macro perspective, such as what laws and institutions are, and how they affect people's lives. Now, I'm delving into people's daily lives, focusing on what ordinary people are doing and how they are affected by institutions. There are similarities and differences between the two. The similarity is that I still focus on the relationship between institutions and individuals. The difference is that I'm now closer to people's daily experiences, focusing on the impact of the implementation of institutions on individuals' specific lives.

Wang Xinlu: When did your focus shift to individuals? Is there a specific time point?

Fairuzah Atchulo: My first master's degree was in public policy. During my studies, we not only considered how to design policies, but also how to evaluate them. Who is the target population? What impact do we hope to have on people's daily lives? Actually, at that time, we were already starting to think about things at the "individual" level. But the individual in policy is more abstract. For example, when formulating policies related to homelessness or improving educational conditions, you are considering a demographic "target group," not a specific individual.

In fashion studies, I have direct access to specific individuals, the opportunity to engage in face-to-face conversations, and to hear their experiences. This process brings me closer to my research subjects. You could say my background in public policy laid the foundation for my later research. While my doctoral studies allowed me to delve deeper into the individual and personal aspects of the subject, I can now have in-depth conversations with them, even spending about two hours in their homes, having coffee, chatting, and simply being together. This makes my research more personalized and relatable.

Wang Xinlu: Could you share why you chose to study in South Korea?

Fairuzah Atchulo: Actually, it wasn't South Korea that I chose. I had a friend in South Korea at the time; we met in high school, and she was a bit older than me. After I graduated, she told me about scholarships for Korean universities and helped me with my application. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have considered going to South Korea; she greatly influenced my choice at the time.

Although she's almost the same age as me, I've always called her "Ajumma." "Ajumma" is a term of address for older women in Korean, and I call her that because I feel she influenced me a lot. She always seemed like someone much older than me, giving me a lot of wisdom and advice. Actually, her name is Jennifer Alenga, and she now lives in Australia.

Part 2: Project Experience

Wang Xinlu: What is your main role in this research project?

Fairuzah Atchulo: The goal of our entire project is to outline the global fashion supply chain, tracing it from trade all the way to consumption. I mainly focus on the consumption side; my fieldwork is in Nairobi, while another colleague of mine is more focused on researching the situation in Mozambique.

Clothing market in Nairobi

Wang Xinlu: Could you share why you chose Nairobi as your field site? Were there any special considerations?

Fairuzah Atchulo: From the beginning of our project, we hoped to choose two African countries for comparative research. Kenya was one of them. Kenya is considered one of the more economically developed countries in Africa, with a high GDP per capita, and it was once a British colony. Mozambique is relatively poorer and was a former Portuguese colony, which would allow for a comparative study. For me, Kenya was much better suited to my research interests particularly because I could communicate better in Kenya than Mozambique.

Wang Xinlu: So when did you first become interested in fashion research?

Fairuzah Atchulo: I think I'm like most people. Fashion is something I come in contact with in my daily life, but I didn't think about it consciously until a certain opportunity pushed me in that direction, and then I realized, "Oh, so this is how you can look at it."

Although I had no prior background in fashion studies, I was very interested in this PhD program and thought, why not give it a try? I didn't have high hopes at the time; when I looked at the specific job requirements, I felt I definitely wouldn't be selected. Later, I was surprisingly accepted, which I think is perhaps because the program aligned with my research perspective.

I truly entered the field of fashion studies after receiving my PhD acceptance letter. Before that, I rarely went out and didn't pay much attention to my clothing. In Ghana, it's generally believed that one's attire should match their profession. Around 2023, it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps I should buy some clothes suitable for a PhD student. So I started going online to pick out some clothes that I felt fit the "PhD student vibe." This process made me start seriously thinking about "dressing."

I used to not think too much about what I wore; I considered it more of an everyday matter. But after I started studying fashion, I realized I could look at it more deeply. Before choosing clothes, I should think about why people do things this way or that way, and how I choose and handle my own clothes. For example, do I need to wash this garment? How should I wash it? Should I wash it myself or send it to the dry cleaners? These are all very everyday interactions with clothes.

I think it was the new environment and my mindset at the time that made me consciously start thinking about fashion, and made me realize that fashion is not just about "wearing clothes," but involves many things that are worth thinking about and studying in depth. It does indeed affect many people's lives, and it is worth my time to study it further.

Wang Xinlu: I'm curious, did your shopping experience change after you started researching fashion?

Fairuzah Atchulo: Actually, no. In fact, I'm not a big shopper; my shopping experience as a child wasn't great. I have an aunt who loves going to markets. She'll wander through the entire market, comparing clothes back and forth, and she'll make me try on clothes repeatedly. But for me, shopping is about going to get what I want to buy; if I like it, I buy it. This has made me more inclined towards "efficient shopping" —buy what you like, leave if you don't. I don't want to spend too much time shopping, and I still don't. After I started studying fashion, I didn't spend more time browsing stores, but rather I "thought more deeply" about clothes, developing a deeper connection with them, rather than just a process of quick consumption.

Wang Xinlu: How does your academic background in international relations influence your perspective on the fashion industry?

Fairuzah Atchulo: My doctoral project focuses primarily on the study of "size" and "size systems," an area of interest that is somewhat related to my academic background. Because on a macro level, I know that many institutions influence people's daily practices. In international relations studies, we focus on the relationships between countries and how institutions affect each other. So, when I entered the fashion field, I also considered similar questions.

I first noticed the term "size" when I couldn't find clothing labeled with African sizes while shopping online in Europe. You could find UK sizes, US sizes, Chinese sizes, even Asian and Australian sizes, but not African sizes. At that moment, I suddenly realized, "Good heavens, why aren't there African sizes on this platform? What's going on?" This experience prompted me to further investigate what political, historical, and cultural factors had led to Africa being excluded from the existing sizing systems.

I also started thinking about how consumers outside of Europe, the UK, Australia, and China describe their sizes and interact with these sizing systems. Are they confused or dissatisfied? What are their feelings when buying clothes? This is actually related to international relations; where certain more powerful countries set the rules and standards for clothing. Just as we all communicate in English, we could communicate in other languages, but due to the dominance of certain powerful countries, English has become the dominant language.

Wang Xinlu: Have you investigated which platforms or channels use African sizing standards?

Fairuzah Atchulo: That's a very interesting question. When I was shopping online in Europe, I was thinking that maybe I wasn't seeing African sizes because I was shopping in the Netherlands, so I focused my research on African platforms, which

became the starting point of my doctoral research.

Size information on Jumia platform

The country I chose to investigate was Kenya. I examined three online shopping platforms: Kilimall, Jumia, and AliExpress. Kilimall is an e-commerce platform specifically built for the Kenyan market. Its founder is Chinese, but the platform is entirely designed for Kenyan consumers. Jumia is another African e-commerce platform serving multiple African countries, including Ghana and Kenya. Interestingly, although these platforms are designed for the African market, they don't offer African sizing systems. For example, on Jumia , I observed that they offer UK, US, China, Asian, and Australian sizes. These platforms still use a "standardized" sizing system, rather than one tailored to the African market.

What's even more interesting is that when I interviewed Kenyans and asked them about their clothing sizes, their answers were almost always UK sizes, such as "UK 6," "UK 8 ," or " UK 10. " However, when you asked them why they used the UK sizing system to describe their size, it was a difficult question to answer. In fact, UK sizing is based on British body measurements, so why would people in Kenya use UK sizes? This is actually related to colonial history; Kenya was a former British colony.

Part 3: Field Stories

Wang Xinlu: Since you have done fieldwork in different countries and have rich fieldwork experience, could you share a story that left the deepest impression on you during your fieldwork?

Fairuzah Atchulo: What impressed me most were the mannequins . I didn't initially consider mannequins as part of my research. When I first went to Nairobi, I felt the whole city was like a market, a mobile market. Walking around the city, you would find people selling clothes and all sorts of goods everywhere. I was just wandering around the market when I noticed that everyone was selling clothes on mannequins, some with heads, some without.

Mannequins photographed in Nairobi market

The mannequins in Nairobi were very different from those in Europe, and they struck me strongly. The mannequins in Nairobi had more curves, with slimmer waists and wider hips, while mannequins in European stores were often straight and slender. The Nairobi mannequins' figures were very close to the real figures of ordinary women. Moreover, this phenomenon wasn't limited to one store; it was observed throughout the entire market. I later observed the same phenomenon in many other markets. This suggests that retailers consciously chose mannequins with this body type; since they could have chosen mannequins of other sizes or body types.

This detail conveyed important cultural information to me, concerning Nairobi's views on the body, sizing system, and aesthetic preferences, all of which are quite different from those in Europe, the Netherlands, and South Korea. This discovery impressed me deeply and became an important part of my research.

Wang Xinlu: When you went to Guangzhou to do fieldwork, were your feelings and experiences any different?

Fairuzah Atchulo: When we were doing fieldwork in Guangzhou, we visited different markets, and you could clearly sense who the clothes in each market were for. There was one market a friend told me was called the "European Market." When you walked into a shop there, you could immediately tell that the target audience was Europeans. I'm not talking about African Europeans or African Americans, but a very specific consumer group. You could clearly see this through the mannequins displayed in the shops. I had a colleague with me at the time, and I would always ask her, "Did you see that? Did you see that? Do you understand what I'm saying?" She had the same feeling. That's why mannequins are very important in my research; they're linked to sizing issues.

Mannequins photographed in Guangzhou market

I actually took some photos documenting the different models they sell. You can see that they produce different types of models of mannequins for different markets, such as those exported to Africa, Brazil, or certain regions that emphasize body curves. The body types of the mannequins vary depending on the target market. This might be because aesthetic standards differ in different regions, or it could be to better reflect the body types of ordinary people in those regions. I even took a photo of myself with these mannequins, which was really interesting.

Fairuzah at Guangzhou market

Wang Xinlu: Besides the market, where else did you go during your field research?

Fairuzah Atchulo: The market is only one part of my research. We also used many other research methods, such as "wardrobe studies." We would go to the respondents' homes, photograph their wardrobes, talk to them about the clothes they owned, and physically touch and feel the clothes to try to experience the consumers' feelings.

We would also ask them to share their memories related to the clothes, which was an important part of my fieldwork in Nairobi.

Liuhua Market in Guangzhou

In addition, I conducted focus group interviews, in-depth consumer interviews, and one-on-one interviews with retailers, wholesalers, and fashion designers—all crucial methods in fashion research. Of course, this also included participatory market observation; I needed to understand the overall picture of the market, what locals cared about, what they bought, and what they sold. I visited many local markets, and this process helped me compile this information more completely, gradually deepening my understanding of the logic behind market operations.

I spent seven months in Nairobi, wandering the streets almost every day, looking at various clothing stores and observing market trends. In Nairobi, I visited the largest secondhand clothing market, Gikomba Market , as well as some smaller "satellite markets" selling clothes , such as Eastleigh Market, which I frequented most . I did similar observations in Guangzhou, for example, visiting the so-called "European Market." Besides browsing the markets, I also observed what was being sold and how the clothes were displayed.

Wang Xinlu: Did you buy anything during your fieldwork? What did you buy?

Fairuzah buys clothes in Nairobi

Fairuzah Atchulo: Of course, I call this immersive participant observation . I bought this dress in Nairobi for 200 shillings at a secondhand clothing store. 200 shillings is less than 2 euros. Everyone in the store was standing there, browsing and looking for something suitable, so I joined them and picked one out too. But the conditions didn't allow me to try it on. Luckily, I was wearing a rather tight-fitting top, so I tried this dress over it to see if the size was right. That's how I not only observed the market but also participated in the consumption process, gaining firsthand experience.

Wang Xinlu: What theoretical perspectives or concepts have been most inspiring to you during your research?

Fairuzah Atchulo: I think I was inspired by many things, such as the ideas that kept coming to mind while I was reading the stories told to me after completing the interviews. My theoretical starting point is "neo-colonialism ," but it's not entirely the same as the neo-colonialism explained by the early Ghanaian scholar Kwame Nkrumah . I hope to extend it to the study of the global fashion system and the African market. On the surface, African countries appear independent, but in reality, their political and economic policies are still largely influenced by external forces. And for me, I want to look at it from the perspective of sizing research, what makes us remain silent and passively accept external sizes, quality, and designs?

At the same time, I also focus on individual agency — how consumers imbue clothing with meaning, how the clothing itself conveys meaning to the market, and how different actors interact in this process. These are all aspects of my research. Looking back on the entire process, I hope to establish a theoretical framework for African fashion studies by analyzing these materials. In this process, I referenced certain existing theories and attempted to combine them with my observations.

Wang Xinlu: At the end of the interview, I would like to ask what your plans are for the next stage of your doctoral research project?

Fairuzah Atchulo: Regarding my doctoral research plans, I think it's time to be more pragmatic: finish my dissertation first, then consider larger plans. Currently, I will continue my research on clothing sizing, but I may broaden the scope beyond Nairobi to include other regions of Africa. Later, I might also focus on other countries, such as Turkey and Indonesia. My next step is dissertation writing. I've completed most of the fieldwork and data collection, but I still need to organize and analyze the field data to further deepen my research topic.

Wang Xinlu: After conducting fashion research for a period of time, what advice would you give to scholars who want to do fashion research?

Fairuzah Atchulo: Immerse yourself completely, don't overthink it, just dive right into the research. Fashion changes every day, so you can learn and understand continuously through daily experience. Perhaps you, like me, don't have a fashion background, but you can still find your own way, approaching it from your academic perspective, knowledge, and experience, and integrating them into fashion research.

When you start to continuously think about fashion products and the systems behind them, you will naturally discover many interesting phenomena.