Prof Desiree Smal

Acting Executive Dean: Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture
Name: Desiree Smal
Location: Lower Ground Floor FADA Building Bunting Road Campus
Executive Deans, FADA Fashion Design Staff, FADA Management Staff  Staff Members

Contact Details:
Tel: 011-559-1110/1120/1111/1022

Personal/Executive Assistant: Ina Louw

About Prof Desiree Smal

Desiree Smal is a senior lecturer in the Department of Fashion Design in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). She majored in Fashion Design at the Tshwane University of Technology (then Technikon Pretoria) graduating in a NDip: Clothing in 1984 and a NHDip: Clothing in 1997. In the year 2004 she completed her MTech: Fashion degree at the Tshwane University of Technology (then Technikon Pretoria). The study titled “Computer-Aided-Design: Training needs for Fashion and Textile Design” focused on the use and need for CAD programmes for Fashion and Textile education. Desiree also recently (2016) completed her DTech Design at CPUT. The study titled ”The role of environmental sustainability in a design-driven fashion industry: a South African case study” focused on environmentally sustainable fashion design praxis. Presently Desiree lectures in fashion design on undergraduate level and supervises postgraduate students in the BTech, MTech and MA programmes. Desiree’s area of research specialisation is on environmental sustainability in fashion design praxis. Desiree’s main current research activity include conducting research on some of the findings of her thesis as well as doing research on and developing the model she suggested. Desiree’s research outputs include A paper titled ‘How green is your wardrobe?’, which was presented at the DEFSA annual conference held in Cape Town in 2007. The paper was published in the conference proceedings document. An article titled ‘Eco fashion: fashion fad or future trend?’, which was published in ‘Image and Text’ in 2008. A paper titled ‘Eco-fashion, a design-driven approach’, which was presented at the First Global Conference – Fashion: Exploring Critical Issues held in Oxford in 2009. The paper was published in the conference proceedings document. A paper titled ‘Developing a discourse in fashion design’ co-authored with colleague Carol Lavelle, which was presented at the DEFSA conference held in Johannesburg in 2011. The paper was published in the conference proceedings document. A paper titled ‘Environmentally sustainable fashion: a design-led approach’, which was presented at the Cumulus Conference held in Johannesburg in 2014. The paper was published in the conference proceedings document. Non-accredited publications An article titled ‘The future of eco-fashion: a design driven approach?’, which was published in ‘Fashion Forward’ in 2011. An article titled ‘Design + Sustainability = Fashion: Sustainable design praxis in fashion’, which was published in ‘Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal’ in 2012.