Else Skjold is a Ph.D. scholar at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and Kolding School of Design.

Else Skjold’s field of research is fashion. She develops studies in wardrobes where she analyses what people choose to buy and to wear. In her Ph.D. project Else Skjold focuses on fashion for men, specifically a group of men aged 25-45 years. By means of a clothing diary, a camera, and other instruments, these men document their considerations, deliberations and use of clothes. Here, the emphasis is on issues of comfort and confidence based on considerations of the material, construction and expression of the clothes.

She is particularly interested in the group of men that have been labelled BØV in Danish (BØrneVoksen: ChildAdult). A BØV is a family man with children who dresses in a very youthful way, for example in baggy pants. At a time when the creative economy is producing a mix of traditional and creative jobs in the job market, we are seeing a merger of values and thus fashion choices from worlds that were previously separate. In this context, the question is how these men use clothing to shape an identity that expresses youthfulness and creativity as well as the necessary level of seriousness that the job market requires.

Developing the methodology behind the wardrobe study is a key aspect of Else Skjold’s Ph.D. project. Her approach constitutes a new, innovative method in fashion research that combines ethnological user studies with overarching issues of cultural theory. In her application of this approach she is drawing on CBS’ tradition for market surveys as well as the knowledge of materials and construction of clothes that is present at the Kolding School of Design, and thus, she manages to build a unique competence.

Else Skjold teaches fashion theory at CBS and the Kolding School of Design.

Else Skjold graduated as an M.A. of modern culture and cultural communication from the University of Copenhagen in 2003.