Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:55 — 66.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | RSS

On the latest episode of Portrait of a Fangirl podcast, host Jenna Wrenn spoke with designer, Dr. Lauren Boumaroun, about her experience blending fashion and fandom.

Portrait of a Fangirl Podcast

The Portrait of a Fangirl Podcast is a series from the team at the Temple of Geek. Portrait of a Fangirl initially began as a web series and has now expanded into a podcast series as well. You can watch and listen to the series both here and on our YouTube channel. The podcast is also currently in its second season.

Hosted by Jenna Wrenn, at the core of the project is the importance of telling the stories of women who have found inspiration, growth, and power through fandom.

You can listen to the Portrait of a Fangirl  Podcast directly on this page and also stream it on Apple Podcasts / Google Podcast / iHeart Radio / Spotify and wherever you stream your podcast. You can also watch it on our YouTube channel. You can also find us on social media on our website, Instagram and TikTok.

The Fashion of Fandom

Dr. Lauren Boumaroun has a PhD in Cinema Media studies and a Masters in Visual Culture Costume Studies. With this unique background, Dr. Boumaroun combines her love of fashion and geek culture with her education.

It’s funny that fashion is seen as sort of like frivolous and kind of shallow. But people wear clothing every single day, even if you don’t engage with fashion in the way that you think of you, like high fashion designers and stuff like that. Everyone’s still wearing clothes every day. So It’s a huge part of our lives. I’ve always been really interested in the relationship between dress and identity which is where costume design and fandom come in, because it’s all about creating people through clothing or recognizing people through clothing.

The intersection of fandom and fashion can be approached from a variety of ways. Some expression their love of fashion and fandom through cosplay or by shopping at fandom-based retailers, such as Loungefly. Dr. Boumaroun discussed how her own approach encapsulated a blend of different disciplines.

Media studies as a discipline encompasses so many different things that you really have the space to explore a million different things within that.

So it’s great because I’ve written some historical stuff. Archival research that I did at the academy library where I was like looking through old letters and telegrams from Katharine Hepburn and old documents from censorship about some of the movies she was in and things like that. So I’ve done stuff like that. I’ve written on “The Handmaid’s Tale” cosplay being used in protests. I’ve also written about running jokes in “Arrested Development.” I’ve given a couple of conference papers on the ongoing running jokes in “Arrested Development” and the way that the show is put together with all these different layers of comedy. Then within that, I get to focus on clothing still.

When I was looking at PhD programs, I was trying to decide between Apparel Studies or Media Studies. I was also trying to figure out “am I a fashion person who’s into film and television, or am I a film and television person who’s into fashion” and kind of ended up going that route. So within my field, I am pretty niche. It’s tough because you want to find something in academia in your academic field that isn’t overresearched or overwritten on–something that’s unique. But that can also be a problem when you’re looking for jobs. I’ve yet to see a job posting for a professor position in a Media Studies program where they’re looking for somebody who knows about costumes. In one way, I’m studying these things in part because they’re overlooked, undervalued, and also under-researched. But because of that, they don’t necessarily have as much value. These skills and this knowledge doesn’t have as much value in certain spaces.

I’m into it, especially the side of my work where the focus is more on costume design and costume designers than on fandom. Costume designers in particular are fighting for pay equity, fighting for proper credit, and also compensation. So, I hope that there are things that I can do and write about that can reach a larger audience and maybe help raise awareness or even have.

You can follow Dr. Boumaroun on Instagram for all of the latest updates on her latest work.

About Our Host

Host and executive producer of the Portrait of a Fangirl   Podcast, Jenna Wrenn, is also an entertainment correspondent for Temple of Geek.  Jenna has interviewed talents such as Felicia Day, Max Brooks, Katee Sackhoff, Rachel Smythe, and Ashley Eckstein. Because of her love for pop culture, Jenna has written several articles for Temple of Geek covering conventions, anime, pop culture, and much more. Jenna also served as a panelist at San Diego Comic-Con on Portrait of a Fangirl‘s panel, Adaptation to Advantage: How Women & Fandom Work Together.

Jenna is a historian by trade, a writer by passion, and a cat mom by birthright. Jenna loves to travel, forge new connections, and also drink large cold brews. Jenna is excited to bring more fascinating interviews to viewers/listeners of the Portrait of a Fangirl  podcast.

More episodes from season two of the Portrait of a Fangirl Podcast

• Episode 19: The Recipe for Success with Chef Mary Lou Davis (10/17/24)
• Episode 18: What is Post-Con Depression and How to Cope (9/27/24)
• Episode 17: A Conversation with “The Lovers’ Author Rebekah Faubion (9/13/24)
• Episode 16: The Ripped Bodice: How Women Are Reclaiming the Romance Genre (9/5/24)
• Episode 15: From Fangirl to Sci-Fi Icon: A Conversation With Katee Sackhoff (8/16/24)
• Episode 14: Candice Miller, Audience Winner at the 2024 Her Universe Fashion Show (7/30/24)
• Episode 13: Wes Jenkins Wins Her Universe Fashion Show With Barbie-Inspired Design (7/29/24)
• Episode 12: Interview: Raeven K, Winner and Judge of the Her Universe Fashion Show (7/22/24)
• Episode 11: Journalist Laura Sirikul on Balancing Professionalism and Fandom (7/14/24)
• Episode 10: Blazing Your Own Path in Fandom (7/8/2024)
• Episode 9: Ashley Eckstein on 10 Years of the Her Universe Fashion Show (7/3/2024)
• Episode 8: Micahel James Scott Returns for the Her Universe Fashion Show 10th Anniversary (6/27/2024)
• Episode 7: Breaking inot Hollywood Writing with Victoria Male (6/8/2024)
• Episode 6: FeliciaDay3D: Bringing 3D Printing, Tabletop, & Geek Culture Together (5/24/2024)
• Episode 5: Beyond the Stereotypes: How TikTok Star Shiv Reddy is Changing the Narrative (5/18/2024)
• Episode 4: From Retail to Red Carpet with Amanda Castrillo (4/25/2024)
• Episode 3: The Evolutions of Fangirling with Tara Sands (4/16/2024)
• Episode 2: Fandom as a Window to the World with Alice Fanchiang (3/29/2024)
• Episode 1: Fandom in Academia With Dr. Sabrina Mittermeier (3/15/2024)

Check out season one of the Portrait of a Fangirl  Podcast

• Conversation With Author EK Johnston (11/10/2023)
• Rachel Smythe Roundtable Interview at New York Comic Con 2023 (10/19/2023)
• Inclusivity and the Authentic Self in Content Creating (10/3/2023)
• Emily Zemler on “The Nightmare Before Christmas: Beyond Halloween Town” (9/8/2023)
• Kayleigh McKee on Creativity, Industry, and Personal Growth (9/1/2023)
• Fandom From Behind the Scenes – POAFG Podcast (8/15/2023)
• Discussion With Graphic Novelist Ghezal Omar (7/20/2023)
• The Art of Fangirling With “Let’s Play” Creator Leeanne Krecic (7/19/2023)
• Interview with Ashley Eckstein – Her Universe Fashion Show (6/28/2023)