Introducing our New Ambassadors: Aurore Damoiseaux

27 February, 2026

We are pleased to introduce the newest members of the Design History Society team: our new Ambassadors!

Aurore Damoiseaux is a current PhD student at the University of Brighton. Her AHRC-Techne funded research project focuses on the use of clothing and textile objects in British anti-nuclear activism, specifically looking at Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp (1981-2000). Aurore’s research investigates topics including dress as carrier of emotion and memory, collaborative textile creation in the alternative space of the peace camp, and the politics of appearance. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and your specific design history interests

My name is Aurore, I am a PhD student based at the University of Brighton, and my research looks into the social and political weight of dress in British anti-nuclear activist movements, focusing on the women’s peace camp at Greenham Common between 1981 and 2000. I am interested in the way dress and appearance are embedded in social and political structures. My research explores the way activists self-fashioned on the mediatised stage of the peace camp, and the place of clothing and textile arts in the memorialisation of that event. 

How did you get into design history? 

I studied Art History for my undergraduate degree, and over the course of that degree my interests grew towards the sociological aspect of art history: I really enjoyed learning about the historical context of artists’ lives and works. At the same time, I developed a personal interest and practice in dressmaking. In addition to my own practice of making clothes, I became very curious about the way clothes were made and worn throughout history, and that path led me to do a Masters in Dress and Textile Histories at the University of Glasgow. It was there that my current research project slowly started to develop, as I researched the political context of Art embroidery in Glasgow at the turn of the twentieth century. 

Is there is a particular object that is key to your research? If so, please share your interest in it

One object which I think is quite striking is a jumper hand-knitted by a woman who was at Greenham, Juley Howard, which bears the slogans ‘Power Corrupts’ and ‘I oppose Thatcher’s Britain’. I find it really interesting because it merges the idea of the slogan T-shirt, used to showcase political messages during protest events and in media through visual representations, with the practice of hand-knitting, which holds a particularly noteworthy place in British women’s history. 

What are you looking forward to most about being a DHS Ambassador?

I am looking forward to working with the DHS team and the wider membership, to meet other researchers working in the field of design history, and to hear more about ongoing and future research projects happening in the field. I am also very excited to be part of the organisation of the student-led conference. 

Find out more about Aurore’s research here: https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/persons/aurore-damoiseaux/