Azra TucoPhD Student
About me
I hold a bachelor's degree in Advertising & PR and a master's degree in Fashion Studies. Throughout my academic journey, I have explored areas such as dress history, material culture, and archive and museum studies. My career in the fashion industry has granted me broad experience in PR and communication, with roles both in-house at Swedish fashion houses and at PR agencies representing global brands. Furthermore, I have contributed to Wear Global Magazine, offering insights and reports on the Scandinavian fashion scene. My personal interests are centered around dress history, cultural heritage, and material culture, with a particular focus on the turn of the 19th to 20th century.
Research
My previous research in fashion studies focused on the author and Nobel laureate Selma Lagerlöf and her surviving garments. Through a carefully conducted analysis of Lagerlöf's dress artifacts, and archival materials such as letters, memoirs, and photographs, I explored how fashion and clothing influenced her life as a prominent writer in a time when women had limited access to public roles and spaces. Using methods from the material cultural approach and theoretical frameworks related to self-presentation, status, gender, body, and power, I was able to highlight and contextualize the material and immaterial attributes embedded in Lagerlöf's surviving garments. My doctoral research builds upon the project I initiated at the master's level but also includes other prominent cultural figures who played an important role in shaping Swedish culture at the turn of the 19th to 20th century. My primary research areas remain fashion and dress history, material culture, and cultural heritage.
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