Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

Joseph “Joe” Henry Hancock, II is an international authority in the area of fashion branding as a form of storytelling. He is known internationally for his scholarship on cargo pants.  He started in academia after 20 years in the retailing industry having worked for such legendary companies as The Gap, L. Brands, and Target Corporation. He has written the books, Brand/Story: Ralph, Vera, Johnny, Billy and Other Adventures in Fashion Branding (2009), Brand/Story: Explorations and Cases in Fashion Branding (2016, both through Bloomsbury Press) and edited the books Fashion in Popular Culture: Literature, Media & Contemporary Studies (2013), Global Fashion Brands: Style, Luxury & History (2014), Cotton: Companies, Fashion & The Fabric of Our Lives (2016), and Transglobal Fashion Narratives: Clothing Communication, Style Statements, and Brand Storytelling (2018) all with Intellect Books UK. His most recent edited collection The Fashion Business Reader (2019, Bloomsbury) is the first comprehensive reader reinforces the impact the arts and humanities have played with understanding the business side of fashion. Dr. Hancock’s works on branding and storytelling have appeared in such publications as The Brand Challenge edited by Kartikeya Kompella (Kogan Page 2016) and Strategic Design Thinking edited by Natalie Nixon (Bloomsbury, 2015). For the past 8 years, Dr. Hancock has been the Principle Editor of the peer-reviewed journal Fashion, Style and Popular Culture (Intellect Publishers) and he is working on a photographic monograph discussing Jeans (2021) and a third edition of his first book soon to be called Fashion Branding Stories (2022) both with Bloomsbury.

In the area of leadership, he is the former Executive Director for Events for the Popular Culture/American Culture Associations (PCA/ACA, 2010-2015) and was their 2009 recipient of the Felicia F. Campbell Award for Area Chairs. He has been awarded Drexel's 2008 Steinbright Cooperative Career Center's faculty of the year, received the 2011 Stanley J. Gwiazda Professorship Award from the Goodwin College of Professional Studies, was awarded the 2018-2019 Honors College Faculty of the Year and was their Faculty Fellow that same year! Dr. Hancock has received over $130,000 in grants, fellowships, awards and corporate gifts for Drexel University. He has been the invited speaker, lectured and taught courses at Denison University, Albright College, Cornell University, University of Delaware, Oregon State University, The Ohio State University, Ohio University, the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, Stockholm University, Sweden and London College of Fashion.

 

 

PhD, Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University
MS, Apparel Merchandising, Indiana University
BS, Apparel Merchandising, Indiana University

Journal Articles, Book Chapters and Monographs

Hancock II, Joseph H. “Cargo Pants,” Fashion Photography Library. Bloomsbury, 2018.

Hancock II, Joseph H., “Cargo Pants: The Transnational Rise of the Garment that Started a Fashion War, In Anne Peirson-Smith and Joseph H. Hancock, II (eds), Transglobal Fashion Narratives, Bristol, Intellect, UK, 2018.

Peirson-Smith, Anne and Joseph H. Hancock II, “Telling Brand Tales- Revealing All and Covering Up: The A&F Brand/Story,” Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 50, Issue 6, 2017, pp. 1184-1212.

Hancock II, Joseph H. “Redefining the Appearance of the Twenty-First Century Man: Tony Ferraiolo.” Critical Studies in Men’s Fashion, Vol. 3, Issue 2, Intellect, UK, 2016, pp. 141-146. 

Hancock, Joseph H., II, (ed), “Transitions: A Year of Change.” Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, Vol. 3, Issue, 3, Intellect, UK, 2016.

Hancock, Joseph, Brand/Story: Explorations and Cases in Fashion Branding, 2nd Edition. New York: Bloomsbury Publishers, 2016.

Drushel, Bruce and Joseph H. Hancock, II, “The Meaning is the Messenger.: In Bruce Drushel and Joseph H. Hancock, II (eds), Journal of American Culture, Volume 39, Issue 1, Wiley, pp. 5-8, 2016.

Perison-Smith, Anne and Joseph H. Hancock, II, “Special Issue of the Journal of Clothing Cultures: Transglobal Fashion Narratives & Style Cultures, October 2015.” In Anne Peirson-Smith and Joseph H. Hancock, II (eds), Clothing Cultures, Volume 2, Issue 3, Intellect UK, pp. 235-239, 2015.

Kaiser, Susan, Joseph Hancock, and Sara Bernstein, “Luxury and Its Opposites: A Critical Fashion Studies Perspective,” In Haochen Sun, Barton Beebe, and Madhavi Sunder (eds), The Luxury Economy and Intellectual Property, London: Oxford University Press, pp.13-42, 2015.

Hancock, Joseph, “Relating Semiotics, Hyperreality, and Meaning to Design.” In Natalie Nixon (ed), Strategic Design, London: Bloomsbury, pp. 23-42, 2015.

Hancock, Joseph, “A Brand/Story Conceptual Framework ForThe Brand Challenge. Kogan Page: UK, pp. 231-52, 2014.  

Hancock, II Joseph H. and Vicki Karaminas , “The Joy of Pecs: Representations of Masculinities in Fashion Brand Advertising,” Clothing Cultures, Vol. 1, Issue 3, pp. 269-288, 2014.

Matthews, Kevin, Joseph H. Hancock, II and Zhaohui Gu, “Rebranding American Men’s Heritage Fashion Through the Use of Visual Merchandising, Symbolic Props and Masculine Iconic Memes Historically Found in Popular Culture,” in Hancock et al (Eds.), Global Fashion Brands: Style, Luxury & History. Intellect UK, pp. 3-22, 2014.

Matthews, Kevin, Joseph H. Hancock, II and Zhaohui Gu, “Rebranding American Men’s Heritage Fashion Through the Use of Visual Merchandising, Symbolic Props and Masculine Iconic Memes Historically Found in Popular Culture,” Critical Studies in Men’s Fashion, 1(1) pp. 39-58, Intellect UK, 2013.

Fulton, Jennifer and Joseph H, Hancock, II, “Stephen Cal/Stephanie Chic: A Student and a Queen,” Fashion, Style and Popular Culture, 1(1) pp. 119-130, Intellect, UK, 2013.

Peirson-Smith, Anne and Joseph H. Hancock, II, “Editorial,” Fashion Practice, 5 (2), pp. 165-170, Bloomsbury, 2013.

Hancock, Joseph, and Vicki Karaminas, “Introduction,” Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, 1(1) pp. xi-xvi, Intellect UK, 2013.  

Hancock, Joseph. “Brand This Way: Lady Gaga’s Fashion as Storytelling Context to the GLBT Community.” In Joseph Hancock, Vicki Karaminas, and Toni Johnson-Woods (Eds.), Fashion in Popular Culture. Intellect, UK. pp.1-22, 2013.  

Hancock, Joseph, “Humanism, Fashion and Star Trek: Conversation with George Hosato Takei,” The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, 2 (3) pp. 471-477, Intellect UK, 2013.

Hancock, Joseph and Edward Augustyn, “FashionableThe Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, 2 (3), pp. 183-195, Intellect, UK, 2013. 

Hancock, Joseph. “A Deconstructionist Perspective on Menswear: A Conversation with Siki Im.” Fashion Practice. Vol. 3, Issue 1, pp. 111-122, London: Berg Publishers, 2011.

Hancock, Joseph and Edward Augustyn. “Snapshot: Cargo Pants.” Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2011.

Hancock, Joseph and Edward Augustyn. “Pants,Trousers.” Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2011.

Hancock, Joseph. Brand/Story: Ralph, Vera, Johnny, Billy and Other Adventures in Fashion Branding.  New York: Fairchild Publications, 2009.

Hancock, Joseph. “A Conceptual Framework For Branding: Creating Context and Meaning for Cargo Styles,” In Vicki Karminas, Catherine Cole, and Peter McNeil (eds), Fashion In Fiction, London: Berg Publishers, pp. 95-104, July 2009.

Hancock, Joseph. “Chelsea on 5th Avenue: Hypermasculinity and Gay Clone Culture in the Retail Brand Practices of Abercrombie & Fitch ” In Fashion Practice, Vol. 1, Issue 1, 63-85, London: Berg Publications, May 2009.

Lopez-Gydosh, Dilia and Joseph Hancock. “American Men and Identity in Contemporary African American and Latino Style,” Journal of American Culture, Vol. 31:1, 16-28. March 2009.

Miler, Judy and Joseph Hancock. “Guest Editor’s Introduction,” Journal of American Culture, Vol. 31:1, 1-3. March 2009.

Hancock, Joseph. “Learning To Document  In Concepts and Cases in Retail and Merchandise Management 2nd Edition, by Nancy Rabolt and Judy Miler, 20-22, New York: Fairchild Publications, 2009.

Hancock, Joseph. “A Hunka-Hunka of Burnin Hot! A Case of Abercrombie & Fitch’s Brand & Store Positioning.” In Concepts and Cases in Retail and Merchandise Management 2nd Edition, by Nancy J. Rabolt and Judy Miler, 85-90, New York:  Fairchild Publications, 2009.

Hancock, Joseph. “A Story of Target Guest Service.”  In Concepts and Cases in Retail and Merchandise Management 2nd Edition, by Nancy Rabolt and Judy Miler, 297-299, New York:  Fairchild Publications, 2009.

Hancock, Joseph, “Parties, Sex and Celebrities:  Branding Cargo Pants in Mass Fashion.” In Fashion Forward, edited by Phillippa Ashton and Tim Jackson, 1-15, London:  London College of Fashion, 2005.

Cunningham, Patricia and Joseph Hancock. “Fashion”, In The Greenwood Guide to American Popular Culture, edited by Thomas Inge and Dennis Hall, Vol. 2, 605-648. Westport:  Greenwood Press, 2002. 

Edited Works

Hancock II, Joseph H., Nioka Wyatt and Natasha Lewis (eds), Brands Changing the Fabric of Our Lives. Bristol, Intellect, 2016.

Hancock II, Joseph H., Marvin J. Taylor and Jessica Strubel (eds), Critical Studies in Men’s Fashion: Special Issue Masculinities, Vol. 3, Issue 2, Intellect, UK, 2016.

Drushel, Bruce and Joseph Hancock (eds), “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, & Transgender Special Issue,” Journal of American Culture,Vol. 39, Issue, 1, March 2016.

Peirson-Smith, Anne and Joseph H. Hancock, II (eds), Clothing Cultures – Transglobal Fashion Narratives & Culture, Vol. 2 Issue 3, Intellect, UK, 2015.

Hancock, Joseph H., II. (ed) Clothing Cultures - Diverse Methodologies, Vol. 2, Issue 1, Intellect, UK, 2014.

Ferrero-Regis, TizianaClothing Cultures Vol.1, Issue 3. Intellect, UK. 2014

Hancock II, Joseph, Gjoko Muratovski, Veronica Manlow and Anne Peirson-Smith (Eds.), Global Fashion Brands: Style, Luxury & History. Intellect, UK. 2014.

Peirson-Smith, Anne and Joseph H. Hancock, II (Eds.), Fashion Practice Special Issue: Fashion Branding, 5(2). London: Bloomsbury, 2013.

Hancock, Joseph, Vicki Karaminas and Toni Johnson-Woods (Eds.), Fashion In Popular Culture. Intellect, UK. 2013.

Hancock, Joseph (Ed.), Fashion, Style & Popular Culture –Sample Issue. Intellect: Bristol, UK: 2013.

Hancock, Joseph and Ann Keith Kennedy (Eds). The Journal of Culture & Retail Image, Philadelphia, PA: Drexel University Libraries, 2008-2012 Volumes 1-5), ISSN: 2157-2496.

Horner, Alexandra, Clare Sauro, Joseph H. Hancock, II, and Ann Keith Kennedy (Eds). Fashion In Fiction The Dark Side Abstracts from the Conference. Philadelphia, PA: Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, 2010.

Miler, Judy and Joseph Hancock (Eds.) The Journal of American Culture: Special Fashion Issue.  Malden, MS:  Blackwell Publishing. Vol 32, Issue 1., March 2009.

Joseph H. Hancock, II is a known scholar in the area of fashion branding and its function of storytelling. His research explores mass fashion and lifestyle merchandising using three intersecting themes: identity, cross-cultural encounters and everyday practices. These themes are the core of fashion and dress: as an everyday individual and social project, and as a system in which people and clothing globally circulate. The performance of identity, social practices such as shopping, and the movement of commodities that create and transfer cultural meanings.

 Contracted Works in Process

Hancock II, Joseph H.  Jeans, Bloomsbury, 2021.

Hancock II, Joseph H. Fashion Branding Stories 3^rd Edition, Bloomsbury, UK, Contracted 2022.

Principal Editor, Fashion, Style & Popular Culture (Intellect Books, Bristol, UK)

Fashion, Style & Popular Culture is a double-blind reviewed academic journal specifically dedicated to the area of fashion scholarship and its interfacings with popular culture. It was established to provide an interdisciplinary environment for fashion academics and practitioners to publish innovative scholarship in all aspects of fashion and popular culture relating to design, textiles, production, promotion, consumption and appearance-related products and services. Articles related to history, manufacturing, aesthetics, sourcing, marketing, branding, merchandising, retailing, technology, psychological/sociological aspects of dress, style, body image, and cultural identities, as well as purchasing, shopping, and the ways and means consumers construct identity are acceptable works.

Fashion, Style & Global Culture Conference, May 16-18^th, 2019

            Orchestrated Symposium for Drexel’s Pennoni Honors College for attendees and guests.

Fashion, Style & Media Conference, October 12-14^th, 2017

            Orchestrated Symposium for Drexel’s Design Department for attendees and guests