Olivia began her academic career with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Sociology at Queen's University (Kingston, Canada), followed by an Master of Arts in Fashion at Toronto Metropolitan University (Toronto, Canada). Her MA thesis considered design and material culture perspectives of national football jerseys through a Canadian lens. After spending time in industry, Olivia felt there was potential for further investigation in her MA work, and joined Loughborough University for her PhD. She hopes to continue to bridge the gap between sociology, fashion studies, and sports studies.
Publications:
Papers in Refereed Journals:
Garcia, O., & Tullio-Pow, S. (2021). The Design Aspects of National Soccer Jerseys. iLetters: An Open Access Journal of Innovation, 1(1), 1-4.
Olivia's research focuses on material culture and football. Her work aims to create an understanding of football and fashion through an interdisciplinary lens, focusing on fan perceptions of nationalism linked to football jerseys.
External Activities:
Social Representative for the Doctoral Researchers in the School of Sports, Health, and Exercise Sciences.
Conference Presentations:
Garcia, O. (presenter), & Tullio-Pow, S. (2021, April 15-16). The Design and Material Culture Aspects of National Soccer Jerseys [Conference presentation]. iCongress: Textile Fashion Innovation Congress 2021, Virtual.
Garcia, O. (presenter), & Tullio-Pow, S. (2021, November 3-6). National Soccer Jerseys: Canadian Perspectives on Material Culture and Design [Poster presentation]. International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference 2021: Breaking Boundaries - Innovation and Interdisciplinary Approaches in Apparel Product Development, Virtual.