Welcome to the Fashion, Style, Appearance, Consumption & Design community! We’re so happy you’re here and we want you take full advantage of the opportunities our new platform provides. Please read over the code of conduct so we can continue to ensure a safe and supportive space for all. Thank you for your dedication to the Popular Culture Association!

Call for Papers

Fashion, Style, Appearance, Consumption & Design is seeking paper proposals for oral presentation at the annual conference to be held April 8-11, 2026 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

The Fashion, Style, Appearance, Consumption & Design area is concerned with all areas and aspects of fashion, style, clothing, design, and related trends, appearances and consumption.

The area is open to a range of disciplines and perspectives including (but not limited to):

·      Fashion history and analyses

·      Intersections with media (e.g., film/TV costuming, advertising, news, social media)

·      Business considerations (e.g., branding, design, merchandising, production, retailing)

·      Anthropological/psychological/sociological aspects of dress and body image

·      Cultural identities and interrogations of consumer culture

Interested presenters are asked to submit a proposed title and a short abstract (no more than 250 words) and a short bio (no more than 50 words) through the Popular Culture Associations’ submission page.

Submitters will have the option to choose the area their submission is intended for. You may only submit one paper (regardless of the area) and please review submissions for your full name, university, and spelling and grammar.

Fashion, Style, Appearance, Consumption & Design is open to submission of complete panels, roundtables, or other presentation forms. If you are interested in this, please reach out to the area chair Myles Ethan Lascity (elascity@smu.edu) before submitting.

PCA is highly regarded in the academy with well more than 5,000 academic oral presentations given internationally, two top-tier journals (The Journal of American Culture and Journal of Popular Culture), and more than 3,000 members.

For questions, please contact the area chair:

Myles Ethan Lascity

elascity@smu.edu

Important Dates to Remember:

• Database opens for Submissions - Sept. 1, 2025
• Early Bird Registration Begins - Sept. 1, 2025
• Deadline for Paper Proposals - Nov. 30, 2025
• Travel Grant Applications Due - Dec. 15, 2025
• Early Bird Registration Ends for Presenters - Dec. 31, 2025
• Regular Registration Begins for Presenters - Jan. 1, 2026 
• Travel Grant Decisions / Notifications - Jan. 31, 2026
• Regular Registration Ends for Presenters - Jan. 31, 2026
• Late Registration Starts for Presenters - Feb. 1, 2026
• Preliminary Program draft available - Feb. 6, 2026

Those Presenters Not Registered by Feb. 15 Will be Dropped from the Program

CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA, GA - April 8-11, 2026