Sha'Mira Covington
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Assistant Professor in Fashion, Assistant Curator for the Anne Barge Historic Clothing and Textile Collection
Dr. Sha'Mira Covington is a scholar-curator whose research examines Black fashion, material culture, and the fashion-industrial complex through the lens of liberation studies.
200B Barrow Hall
115 DW Brooks Dr.
Athens, GA 30602
Education
| Degree | Field of Study | Institution | Graduation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Polymer, Fiber, and Textile Sciences- International Merchandising emphasis, African American Studies | The University of Georgia | 2023 |
| M.S. | Communications- Public Relations | Syracuse University | 2018 |
| B.S. | Fashion Merchandising, Art History | The University of Georgia | 2011 |
Research
My research examines Black fashion and material culture across archives, collections, museums, and the fashion-industrial complex. Drawing from fashion history, museum studies, cultural studies, and critical theory, I investigate Black diaspora dress histories, textile heritage, provenance, and curatorial practice while exploring fashion within the contexts of colonial domination, anti-colonial resistance, and decolonization.
I also study fashion sustainability through the lenses of cultural sustainability, circular systems, and corporate social responsibility, with particular attention to the ethical stewardship of clothing and textiles. My work is informed by more than a decade of experience in the fashion retail industry, allowing me to connect historical inquiry with contemporary industry challenges. Across my research, teaching, curation, and collaborations with industry and cultural institutions, I seek to expand historical narratives, preserve cultural heritage, and contribute to more equitable and sustainable futures for fashion.
Teaching
TXMI 3210: Fundamentals of Fashion Merchandising
TXMI 3220: Fashion Ethics and Sustainability
TXMI 3530E: Apparel Quality Analysis
TXMI 4230/6230: Dress, Society, and Culture
TXMI 4290/6290: History of Dress and Fashion: Nineteenth Century to the Present
TXMI 6900: Special Topics in Textiles, Merchandising, and Interiors: Sustainable Fashion Systems
FYOS 1001: Fashion and Black Expressive Culture in the African Diaspora
Awards
| Award Name | Awarded By | Year Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Special Collections Fellow | UGA Libraries, Center for Teaching and Learning | 2026 |
| Sustainable UGA Outstanding Faculty Award | UGA Office of Sustainability | 2026 |
| Lilly Teaching Fellow | Center for Teaching and Learning | 2025-2027 |
| Active Learning Summer Institute (ALSI) Fellow | Center for Teaching and Learning | 2024 |
| Mellon Building Southern Intersectional Futures Grant | The Institute for Women's and Gender Studies | 2024 |
Editorial Appointments
| Position | Name of Journal | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial Board Member | International Journal of Sustainable Fashion and Textiles | 2025-present |
| Editorial Board Member | Dress | 2024-present |
Service
| Organization | Title | Year(s) | Service Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office of Sustainability | Affiliate Faculty | University | |
| Institute for African American Studies | Affiliate Faculty | University | |
| Institute for Women's and Gender Studies | Affiliate Faculty | University | |
| FACS Faculty Advisory Committee | Assistant Professor Representative | College | |
| Fair Fashion UGA | Faculty Advisor | College | |
| The Agency | Faculty Advisor | College | |
| HAUTE Creatives Collective | Faculty Advisor | 2023-2025 | College |
| FACS Inclusive Excellence Committee | Member | College | |
| International Textile and Apparel Association | Member, Secretary of Black in ITAA Affinity Group | 2023-2025 | International |
| Association of Black Women Historians | Member | National | |
| Costume Society of America | Member | National | |
| Black Women Studies Association | Member | National | |
| National Black Council of Black Studies | Member | National |
Outreach
Faculty Coordinator and Liaison, Fashion X: Change (Atlanta–Berlin Sustainable Fashion Exchange Program – ABS-X)
Advisory Board Member, Atlanta Sustainable Fashion Week
Advisory Board Member, Black Fiber and Textile Network
Advisory Committee
Primary Advising:
Cammie Hedley, Interdisciplinary Studies Undergraduate
Commitee Member:
Areas of Expertise
Decolonization in the fashion-industrial complex, Black liberation studies, sustainable fashion systems, and the intersection of race, culture, and fashion politics.
Hobbies and Passions
Certified in yoga instruction, I approach the practice as a discipline of healing, mindfulness, and embodied presence that supports my commitments to holistic well-being and liberation.
As a pole and burlesque dancer, I integrate these practices into my scholarship through Black femme sensuality, performance as research, and the reclamation of bodily autonomy and joy.
Certified as a birth and labor doula, I support birthing people through embodied care practices grounded in Black femme bodily autonomy, reproductive justice, advocacy, and healing.
Books
Covington, S. AI, Blackness, and the Virtual Politics of Fashion Futures. Under contract with Intellect Books. Manuscript due February 1, 2027.
Covington, S., Reed, J., Hogans, K [Co-edited volume]. The New Black Fashion Studies. Proposal submitted to Intellect Books.
Current Research
I am currently interested in the myriad of ways that Black women have used embodied modes as liberatory praxis.
Other research interests include:
- Black material culture and museums
- Racial representation within the fashion-industrial complex
- Ecofeminism/ecowomanism and fashion sustainability
- Afrofuturism and fashion sustainability
- Blackness and media
- Afro-Indigenous studies
- Dance performance, politics, and identity
- Black leftist thought and fashion
- Fashion and aesthetics as political tools
- Social justice pedagogy in fashion studies
- Contemplative and culturally sustaining pedagogy
- Race and decolonization pedagogy
- Critical analysis of corporate social responsibility
I am open to working with students and colleagues on interdisciplinary and adjacent projects to these areas.
Journal Articles
Covington, S. We the Dressed: Black Fashion and the Unfulfilled Promise of 1776. Dress, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/03612112.2026.2680668
Soltanisehat, M., Covington, S., Sobocinski, O., Syed, A., and Kirry, A. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/17543266.2026.2688315
Ritchie, M. A., Covington, S., Thompson, J. J., Roberts, J., Byers, T., Bendle, N.,Reeves, N., Herles, C., Vassileva, R., Hein, K. D., Clutter, C., Boudreau, M.-C., & Adams, M. 2026. Sustainable Futures: Team Teaching Sustainability in Higher Education. Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-03-2025-0195
Moore, K. & Covington, S. 2025. AI and DEI: Do Inclusive Ads Speak to the Culture? An Examination of Marketing Advertisement’s Efficacy to Gen Z Consumers. The Journal of Cultural Marketing Strategy. https://doi.org/ 10.69554/CYUE538
Covington, S. & Soltanisehat, M. 2025. The Scalability of Aura Blockchain Consortium to Advance Fast Fashion Sustainability through Collaborative Innovation. International Journal of Sustainable Fashion & Textiles. https://doi.org/10.1386/sft_00060_1
Covington, S. 2025. “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” – From Historical Grapevine Networks to Contemporary Black Costume Design Alliances: In Conversation with Noel Corbin. Studies in Costume and Performance. https://doi.org/10.1386/scp_00135_7
Islam, T.(G), Hossain, M.(G), & Covington, S. 2025. Natural Fibers Towards Fashion Sustainability: A Review of Raw Materials, Production, Application, and Perspective. Journal of Natural Fibers. https://doi.org/10.1080/15440478.2025.2462218
Covington, S., Medvedev, K. 2024. “A Woke Brand?: An Analysis of Nike and the Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Fashion-Industrial Complex". Fashion, Style, & Popular Culture.
Weigle, B., & Covington, S. 2022. "The Role of Clothing and Textiles in Defining ‘Family’, a Study of the Narratives from the Former Slave Project". Fashion Studies. https://www.fashionstudies.ca/the-role-of-clothing-and-textiles-in-defining-family
Reed, J., Covington, S., & Medvedev, K. 2022. "Creating Room for Social Justice Pedagogy in Fashion Education". Clothing and Textiles Research Journal.
Covington, S., Medine, C. 2022. “Africana Yogi Personae: Black Yoga Practitioners’ Aesthetic Negotiations in Dress”. The Arrow: A Journal of Wakeful Society, Culture, and Politics.
Covington, S. 2022. “The Narrative Bodies of James Baldwin: A Discussion of Sartorial and Literary Style". Religions
Covington, S., Medvedev, K. 2019. “Dressing for Freedom and Justice”. Clothing Cultures, 6(2), 215-235.
Publications
Covington, S. “Memory, Embodiment, Place, and the Four Pillars of Sustainability in Fashion Education”. [Climate Across the Curriculum, Place-Based Learning in Georgia and Beyond in progress]
Covington, S. “Integrating Ecowomanism and Gratitude Circles to Navigate Eco-Anxiety and Eco-Guilt in Fashion Sustainability Education”. [Teaching Fashion Sustainably in progress]
Covington, S. 2026. “Free Spirits with Wild Hearts: The Reclamation of Black Femme Humanity Through Animal Skins and Prints in Burlesque Performance”. In A. Murfin, V. Lantz, & S. Bucheli (Eds). Animal Fashions: Colonialism, Collecting, and Gender (chap 8). Palgrave Macmillan. https://link.springer.com/book/9783032061904
Covington, S. 2024. "Decentering and Decolonizing Fashion". In J. Blanco (Eds.), The meanings of dress (5th ed., pp. 73-85). Bloomsbury Academic. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/meanings-of-dress-9781501391422/