Faculty

Profile

Dr. Shanti Amalanathan is an entrepreneur, researcher, and professor dedicated to promoting social justice within the fashion and luxury goods industry. With extensive experience in luxury fashion, including over 15 years at Hermes in roles spanning merchandising, retail management, and client development, along with her recent entrepreneurial venture launching an e-commerce bridal jewelry brand, Shanti brings a distinctive perspective to her role as an adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design.

Her teaching philosophy is rooted in challenging students to think strategically and creatively while cultivating an engaging, equitable, and inclusive learning environment.

Shanti earned her PhD from Iowa State University, where her research focuses on uncovering and addressing unjust practices within the modest fashion industry. Her work highlights the marginalization experienced by consumers and women entrepreneurs driving this movement in the United States. She is deeply committed to contributing to a more equitable and just fashion industry through her academic endeavors and research.

Beyond academia, Shanti enjoys reading, climbing, traveling, photography, visiting museums, practicing yoga, and hiking. These varied interests shape her comprehensive approach to teaching and research, aimed at inspiring positive change and raising awareness of social justice issues within the fashion world.

Degrees Held

Iowa State University | Doctor of Philosphy | Apparel, Merchandising, and Design

Fashion Institute of Technology | Master in Professional Studies | Global Fashion Management

Bernard M. Baruch College | Bachelor of Business Administration

Recent Publications

Peer Reviewed
Amalanathan, Shanti and Reddy-Best, Kelly L. (online first in 2023),‘Muslim women consumers: Critical interpretations of US modest fashion brands entangled with the fashion-advocacy-capitalist-façade’, Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, https://doi.org/10.1386/fspc

Performances and Appearances

• 2024 – “Business Challenge” Masters International Marketing Program. Hult International Business School. February 27.
• 2023 – “Business Challenge” Masters International Marketing Program. Hult International Business School. November 3.
• 2022 – “Luxury Marketing” Masters International Marketing Program. Hult International Business School. June 29. “Design and Management” Continuing Professional Education. The New School. New York, NY. June 16.
• 2020 – “Global Luxury Retailing” Fashion Marketing and Merchandising. Sacred Heart University. Fairfield, CT. October 28.
• 2016 – “Luxury Retail Merchandising” Retailing Management. Thomas Jefferson University. Philadelphia, PA. October 18.

Research Interests

social justice, ethical marketing and consumption, historically marginalized communities, and inequities within the fashion system.