Soyini Grey
Senior Producer CNC3
soyini.grey@guardian.co.tt
Shakaila Forbes-Bell is the first black person in the world to graduate with a Master’s degree in Fashion Psychology. Fashion psychology is the study of the application of psychological concepts to our relationships with clothing. As Forbes-Bell explains in a post on her Instagram account @fashionispsychology, it doesn’t mean that she can read your mind, though she might be able to accurately guess some of your key personality traits based on your choice and treatment of what you choose to wear. What she really does is use psychological theory to help people improve their sense of self.
She came into the field at the very beginning of the Black Lives Matter protests when as an undergraduate student she noticed how the same hoodie that labelled Trayvon Martin a threat, symbolised the heights of technological innovation in Silicon Valley. It led to her interest in the relationship between “race, clothes and impression formation.” That work opened her eyes to the messages that our clothes can send about who we are, what we like and how we feel about ourselves. It also made her aware that there could be disconnects in what we think our clothes say about us, and how they are being perceived.
She was among the first cohort of the post-graduate course in Fashion Psychology at the London College of Fashion which is a Master of Science degree in Applied Psychology. Forbes-Bell’s paper on the effect the underrepresentation of black models on the major fashion runways had on young black women was published in the International Journal of Market Research after graduation.
As a hallmark of her work as a psychologist, Forbes-Bell’s opinion is always underpinned by research. She is constantly referring to peer-reviewed studies to support her analysis. A blog post on confirmation bias on her website takes you to a journal article in the Review of General Psychology. This is only one of four papers quoted in her article, which includes additional reference points for the reader who wants to explore the issue further.
When WE magazine spoke to her after her Fashion Psychology workshop which was part of the 2023 Bocas Lit Festival schedule, we found her to be a thoughtful and insightful social scientist.
On the matter of the Trinidadian approach to fashion, she loved the bold use of colour in general, especially when compared to the almost universal black in her native London. She was also interested in the opportunities presented by those who would wear clothes made for them by seamstresses and tailors because it allowed the user to exert creative control over the way they communicated their personality visually.
However, she was also aware of the restrictions applied by public offices on what could be worn inside those buildings. Though this interview was done before the dress code for the public service was amended, her comment that “in one sense Trinidadians can be truly expressive, but they have loads of social norms that is stopping them from truly expressing themselves,” still holds true.
In an industry that is grappling with the issue of profits over people, fast fashion is notoriously exploitative of workers. Forbes-Bell noted that while the world seems to only associate the Caribbean fashion industry with Carnival, she suggested they should look towards its approach of building an industry that avoids those challenges.
“I think when a lot of people are talking about sustainability they think more about Western brands, but they don’t think about the Caribbean brands,” she said. But as regional fashion develops, the designers are doing interesting things “with fashion and textiles” including “treating their garment workers carefully.” Those sustainability conversations, she believes, need to consider the perspectives of designers from the Global South.
It’s an issue that is personal for Forbes-Bell, as her mother and stepfather are Trinidadian, and she spent a lot of holidays here as a child.
As a fashion psychologist, her work has led her to make regular appearances on UK daytime television with her tips and tricks. She has been featured in Vogue, CNN and The Guardian (UK), and she is the author of the book “Big Dress Energy” which claims that it can “transform your wardrobe and your confidence” by encouraging you to fight against impulse shopping by using her “4,3,2,1 rule” to help you decide if that dress is really worth it.