Iva Jestratijevic, PH.D.

Educational Background:

I hold a Ph.D. in Fashion and Retail (The Ohio State University- received 2019), as well as another Ph.D. in the Theory of Art and Media (University of Arts, Serbia-received 2010), and a B.A in International Business and Engineering Management (European University, Serbia).

Industry Career Background:

Fashion in every segment of its meaning makes the main backbone of my life. My fashion industry career started at the tender age of 15 when I have stepped into the world of professional modeling. During my modeling career, I had a chance to live across 3 continents while working for famous designers and living through their brands. In 2000, I won the title of Miss Yugoslavia, and I represented my country at the prestigious Miss World Contest. From 2008 to 2016, I have established and successfully run personal Fashion management and Consulting business focusing on three service domains: 1.) Fashion and model management, 2.) Fashion brand development and consulting, and 3.) Fashion event production (focus on fashion shows, fashion weeks, design exhibitions, and retail pop-ups). During this eight-year-long career, the major services my company has provided for European, Middle Eastern, and North African clients, concentrated mainly on Fashion Week Networks and Individual Brands and Designers.

Academic Journey:

My current research is focused on sustainability and transformative behavior. More specifically, I explore the ways in which social and environmental initiatives perpetuate sustainable transformation, assuring corporate, collective, and personal well-being. I am also interested in the boundary conditions that prevent the translation of motives into action. Research topics in which I am interested include the following:

• Fashion brands and sustainability reporting practice

• Transparency, and greenwashing

• Social and environmental business strategies

• Circular production (e.g., recycling, re-use, repurposing, and rot)

• Waste management for textiles, and apparel

• Responsible supply chain management

• Sustainable packaging

• Consumers’ engagement in sustainable and collaborative consumption

Selected Monograph:

Jestratijevic, I. (2022). The Business of Sustainability in Fashion. Following the Threads. Denton: UNT Press. Forthcoming.

Jestratijevic, I. (2011). Fashion study: signs and meanings of clothing practice. (Original: Studija mode: znaci i znacenja odevne prakse) Belgrade, Serbia: Orion Art. ISBN 10: 8683305619 (First edition.

Selected Refereed Journal Articles:

McCauley, E.; Jestratijevic, I. Exploring the Business Case for Textile-to-Textile Recycling Using Post-Consumer Waste in the US: Challenges and Opportunities. Sustainability 2023, 15, 1473. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021473

Jestratijevic, I., Hillery, Julie (2022). Measuring the “clothing mountain” among U.S. college students: Using action research and principles of sustainability pedagogy to examine unsustainable clothing consumption behaviors in the classroom. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal. (SSCI, IF 1.9). doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X221084375

Karpova, E., Jestratijevic, I., Lee, J., Wu, J. (2022). An ethnographic study of sharing economy: Understanding experiences of women participating in swapping parts of their wardrobes. Sustainability (SSCI IF. 3.889). doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052499

Henninger, C.E, Joyner-Martinez, C, Iran; S., Diddi, S., Durrani, M., Iyer, K., Jestratijevic, I., ; McCormick, H., Niinimaki, K., Thangavelu, P., Sadílek, T., Sauerwein, M.,Simek, P., Singh, R., Wallaschkowski, S. (2022). Fashion consumption during COVID-19: Comparative analysis of changing practices across nine countries and implications for sustainability. Journal: Cleaner and Responsible Consumption. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2022.100056

Jestratijevic, I., Maystorovich, I., & Vrabič-Brodnjak, U. (2022). The 7 Rs Sustainable Packaging Framework: Systematic Review of Sustainable Packaging Solutions in the Apparel and Footwear Industry. Sustainable Production and Consumption. (SSCI, IF 8.9). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2021.12.013 (*Distinctive paper award at International Textile and Apparel Conference, 2021.)

Maldini, I., Iran, S., Laitala, K., Vittersø, G., Jestratijevic, I., Amaral, M., Vladimirova, K. (2021). Dress and the city: a comparative study of clothing and textiles environmental policy in six European cities. European Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production Proceedings. doi: https://doi.org/10.3217/978-3-85125-842-4-19

Creighton, R., Jestratijevic, I., Lee, D. (2021). Sustainability Supplier Scorecard Assessment Tools: A Comparison Between Apparel Retailers. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing. Doi. 10.1080/20932685.2021.1987289

Corovic E, Jestratijevic I. (2021). Assessing the Competitiveness of Serbian Textiles and Apparel Industry Exports Using RCA Index and TPI Indicators. Fibers & Textiles in Eastern Europe; 29, 4(148): 15-23. doi: 10.5604/01.3001.0014.8226

Jestratijevic, I., Uanhoro, J. O., & Creighton, R. (2021). To disclose or not to disclose? Fashion brands' strategies for transparency in sustainability reporting. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JFMM-09-2020-0182

Jestratijevic I, Rudd N.A. & Uanhoro J (2020). Transparency of sustainability disclosures among luxury and mass-market fashion brands. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, doi: 10.1080/20932685.2019.1708774 (published 1/8/2020).

Jestratijevic, I., Rudd, N. A. (2020). Making fashion Transparent - what consumers know about fashion brands they admire. In Burns, L. D. (Ed.), Fashion Business Cases: A Student Guide to Learning with Case Studies. New York: Fairchild Books. (Dec. 10th)

The second, but certainly not less significant research that I have pursued, is grounded in the interdisciplinary domain of social psychology and cultural anthropology of dress and body, with the focus on the body, identity, appearance, and culture. Research topics of interest in these areas include the following:

• Modeling and Beauty Industries

• Aesthetic labor

• Appearance Management Behaviors

• Body Image & Body Modification

• Unhealthy Weight Control Behaviors and Eating Disorders

• Dress and Non-Verbal Communication - Semiotics

• Gender, Appearance, and Identity

• Historical and Cultural Beauty and Dress Norms

Selected Refereed Journal/Encyclopedia Articles:

Jestratijevic, I & Rudd, N. (2022). Hire me I got the “look”! Aesthetic Labor, Aesthetic norms, and Appearance-based recruitment in runway modelling industry. Forthcoming.

Jestratijevic, I., Rudd, N.A, Ilic, S. (2020). The Body to Die for: Body Measurements, and BMI Analysis of Female and Male Runway Models. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal. (SSCI, Impact factor: 1.10) doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X20968893

Jestratijevic, I., Rudd, N. A. (2019). Cosmetics Branding and beauty pursuit. Eicher, J. (Ed.), Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion. London: Bloomsbury. DOI: 10.5040/9781847888525 (published 10/25/2019)

Rudd, N. A., Jestratijevic, I. (2019). Threats to Body Image. In Eicher. J. (Ed.), Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion. London: Bloomsbury. DOI: 10.5040/EDch031613 (published 10/25/2019)

Rudd, N. A., Jestratijevic, I. (2019). Body positivity. In Eicher, J. (Ed.), Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion. London: Bloomsbury.