Shakaila Forbes-Bell, M.A.
Meet our founder
Shakaila Forbes-Bell is a Fashion Psychologist, consultant, TV commentator, founder of the platform ‘Fashion is Psychology‘ and best-selling author of the book “Big Dress Energy”. In 2016, she became the first Black person in the world to earn a postgraduate degree in the emerging field of Fashion Psychology. Her thesis investigating the impact of racial representation in fashion media on consumer behaviour was published in the International Journal of Market Research. Throughout her career, she has delivered workshops and consultancy sessions and has been a brand ambassador for global brands like Calvin Klein, Depop, eBay, Entain, Next, Maybelline, Afterpay, and more helping brands and consumers understand the psychological significance of fashion and beauty trends.
She has given keynote speeches at international events such as Stylist Live in the UK, Global Fashion Agenda in Denmark and the Password Conference in Estonia. She has lent her expert insights to the small screen featuring on TV shows such as Fox News 5 and Channel 5’s ‘How Do They Do It’, she has also made appearances on This Morning and Lorraine (ITV) in the UK and Breakfast Television in Canada. She has bylines in Cosmopolitan, Mr Porter, Marie Claire and i-D and has been featured and profiled in numerous publications such as Forbes, Sunday Times Style, Business Insider, Stylist and more.
She is currently represented by Talent Everywhere and Social Disruption.
Collaborations
Shakaila has worked with global fashion and beauty brands as an in-house fashion psychology/consumer insights consultant, brand ambassador, key-note speaker and content creator
Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein associates participated in an interactive session with Shakaila Forbes-Bell, founder of Fashion is Psychology. With insight into color theory and how our clothes change our mood, thinking, and behavior, associates learned more about how our clothing choices can boost confidence and how fashion psychology can facilitate more sustainable behaviors.
ITV This Morning
Fashion Psychologist and author of ‘Big Dress Energy’ Shakaila Forbes-Bell is here to reveal how you can transform your wardrobe and your confidence, with the clothes you wear. As she says - ‘this is a makeover for more than just your wardrobe, it's about improving your overall wellbeing’.
Net-A-Porter
As part of YOOX NET-A-PORTER and The King's Foundation third edition of ‘The Modern Artisan’ initiative, Shakaila conducted a workshop with 6 emerging designers on ‘Designing for Wellbeing’.
eBay
Shakaila was the in-house fashion psychologist for the eBay x Love Island collaboration.
Maybelline
Shakaila provided a key note speach for the Maybelline head offices in New York introducing the team to the power of Fashion Psychology
Afterpay / Clearpay
As Afterpay’s in-house Fashion Psychologist Shakaila provides insights for data-driven stories on consumer shopping behaviours and trends.
Sainsbury's TU clothing x Stylist
Shakaila provided insights and commentary for Sainsbury’s TU clothing “Dress Well, Feel Good” AW20 campaign.
NEXT
For Next’s #dresslikeaboss campaign Shakaila presented research on how clothes can be used as a tool to navigate imposter syndrome.
Northwest London Waste Association
Shakaila collaborated with NLWA on their Swish and Style campaign to promote the launch of their city-wide clothes swapping event.
Shakaila’s Corner
Projects, quotes and collaborations from your friendly neighbourhood Fashion Psychologist
There are countless topics under the umbrella of Fashion Psychology.
Through her collaborations, features, consultancy projects and through her own platform, Shakaila has a keen insight into the following areas:
- The practice of mindful shopping.
- How to use clothing as a tool to manage your mood and emotions.
- How clothing can act as a time capsule.
- Psychotextiles and the link between physical sensation and emotions.
- The role of style in identity formation.
- The evolving concept of ‘enclothed cognition’.
- The true impact of inclusivity and representation.
- Social media’s impact on wellbeing, identity formation and body positivity.
- Attachment, clothing and sustainability.
- Retail Therapy and more…
As featured in
Some of the publications Shakaila and FiP have been featured in:
Heidi Ruggier
President & Founder, Matte PR
"Shakaila is one of the most versatile, knowledgeable spokespeople we have worked with at Matte PR. Her breadth of knowledge of pop culture, fashion culture and fashion history gave us so much material to work with when ideating media pitches for our client, Afterpay.
What's best is that she can synthesize all these moving parts into perfect snackable morsels, acing the media interview every time. Shakaila brings so much context and meaning to fashion — an industry often mistakenly written off as frivolous. The brilliant Shakaila shows us why it's not, and keeps us coming back for more."
Testimonials
Rohit Burman
Sustainability, Social Impact and Inclusion and Diversity Leader, PVH
1. Can our clothing and color choices impact how we view ourselves, our thought process and our emotional well-being?
2. Can we dress to reflect our authentic self and identity?
3. Can we make choices to be more mindful and sustainable with our shopping?
The answer to all three questions is a resounding yes! Loved having Shakaila Forbes-Bell lead a thought-provoking session for Calvin Klein and PVH associates, which included providing “how to” tips to these questions. The research and insights shared, connecting mood, confidence, sustainability and who we want to be through our “second skin” provided so much for self-reflection and inspiration!
