dr. R.L.A. Breuer (Rebecca)

Dr. Rebecca Louise Breuer is senior researcher at the Fashion & Technology Research Group of the Center for Applied Research Create-IT at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and is specialized in research into the creative potential and lived experiences of textile integrated technologies, as found in wearables and smart garments. Next to her research work, Rebecca lectures cultural philosophy, coordinates the honours programme Fashion Theories and supervises graduation theses.

Specialization

Being a philosopher, Rebecca Louise Breuer is interested which new modes of thinking and paradigms are needed in order to reflect upon the radically new experiences technology worn on the body has to offer. Apart from this she experiments with the aesthetical and interactive possibilities existing technology makes possible. She reads and writes about this topic; she gives lectures and visits those of others; and she lectures and researches this topic with students and fellow researchers.

Motivation

The fashion industry is a gigantic polluter and exploiter. In order to change this, we need to radically change the ways in which we relate to clothing. Clothing that can do radical different things, such as changing from shape, colour or material, can cause us to consume less. Interactive clothing may change the way we relate to clothing drastically. It are such fundamental changes that can help change fashion entirely. Especially the topic of fashion demands profound scientific and creative applied research. Such a perspective largely lacked in our cultural history and this has contributed to the problems we must relate to fashion today.

Current research projects

Rebecca is currently working on a postdoc research project into the lived-body experiences textile integrated technologies may evoke. Central in this research project are fashionable qualities and the associations one may have with the wearing of clothing and the ways in which these will and can change under the influence of technology. In addition, she is currently also researching the creative potential as well as the ethical implications that arise when wearing tech directly on the body.

Current teaching activities

The current teaching activities of Rebecca Louise Breuer include the development of a trans disciplinary study programme into Soft-Wearable Technologies; coordination of and lecturing in the honours programme in Fashion Theories and coaching excellent students at t he Amsterdam Fashion Institute – AMFI.

Education

Rebecca graduated at the Utrecht School of Fine Art (BA) in 1996 and at the University of Amsterdam in Philosophy of Art and Culture (MA) in 1999. In 2015 she obtained her PhD with the creation of a philosophical perspective upon fashion which moves beyond its representation of identity at the University of Amsterdam, under supervision of Prof. Dr. Patricia Pisters.

Previous activities

In 2019 Rebecca Louise Breuer completed a research project for which she wore a posture corrector and a heartbeat monitor during a long period of time. The results of this research project were translated into a popular scientific article.

More information? Feel free to contact Rebecca Louise Breuer through: r.l.a.breuer@hva.nl