Zara Korutz is a strategic media expert, cultural thinker, writer, and academic with 15+ years of experience of omni-channel advertising spanning legacy media institutions, digital-first platforms, editorial creation, and revenue generation. Zara is known for her direct communication style, authentic approach, and passion for change. She uses an "art and science" approach to connect commercial and cultural insights for scalable solutions to complex problems.
At The Washington Post, Zara served on the Global Luxury Task Force launching A New Line with Robin Givhan live event series and the inaugural luxury issue of The Washington Post Magazine. Later, at the J.F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, she launched the award-winning CENTER magazine developing go-to-market marketing selling brand advertising campaigns.
Zara earned her MA with Distinction from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and is currently a PhD Candidate at Massey University, School of Design (New Zealand), where her research explores the cultural impact of Virgil Abloh as a prototype of new art centered fashion designer. Her doctoral thesis, The “Virgil Abloh Effect,” theorizes a method by which transmedia communication and transcreative practices coalesce to establish new mainstream aesthetic norms at the nexus of fashion, art, and culture.
As a university lecturer and adjunct professor, Zara has taught courses in digital media, advertising, communication, digital strategy, branding, and design theory at institutions including Fordham University, Bard College, Iona University, and the University of West London. Her editorial writing has appeared in No Kill Magazine, Fashion Forward, Fashion Unfiltered, and The Washington Post, and she has contributed to peer-reviewed journals and academic anthologies on topics ranging from queer aesthetics to superhero bodies to digital fashion activism. She has published chapters in the books Queer Culture + Inclusive Articulations and Practices in Media, Arts & Materiality (Reynders and Hancock II, 2025) and A Celebration of Superheroes: DePaul Pop Culture Conference (Fong and Booth, 2021).
Earlier in her creative career, Zara worked as an editorial hair and makeup artist, with credits in Vogue Italia, CNN, and Good Morning America. Zara also hosted and produced the critically acclaimed podcast The Unbiased Label, recognized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) as a “Voice of Change.”
A proud second-generation immigrant, Zara draws strength from her Belarusian roots, which instill a fierce commitment to authenticity, resilience, and heart. Based in the New York City, she is working at the crossroads of industry and academia.
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Publications:
Hancock II, J; Gill, P; Petrizzi, R; and Rath, P. (Ed) (2035) Marketing Fashion: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.
D., Reynders and Hancock II , J (Ed) (2025) Queer Culture + Inclusive Articulations and Practices in Media, Arts & Materiality. "Superman is the ‘Other’ Man". pp. 151-171. (Korutz, Z.) ISBN:9789493409880.
Korutz, Z. (October 11, 2024) Keith Haring’s Underground Canvas: How Street Art Shaped NYC Subway and Queer History. NoKillMag.com
Korutz, Z. (September 12, 2024) House of Yes Hosts KRATER for NYFW. Bushwick, it's where the cool kids go to play. NoKillMag.com
Korutz, Z. (September 10, 2024) Review of the Adrian Alicea Runway Show Presented by COSMODA. Fashion Fantasy Comes to Life. NoKillMag.com
Korutz, Z. (September 8, 2024) NYFW Kicks Off At The Brooklyn Museum With dapperQ’s Queer Fashion Feast For The Eyes. NoKillMag.com.
Korutz, Z. (May 23, 2024) Parson’s BFA Fashion Runway Show 2024. A Feast for the Eyes and Consciousness for the Soul. NoKillMag.com.
Korutz, Z. (May 17, 2024) Fashion Can Be Toxic. Smell at Your Own Risk. A Review of the Met's Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion Exhibition. NoKillMag.com.
Korutz, Z. (March 2024) Both& Apparel's 'Boys, Boys, Boys' Ad Campaign: Sex Appeal of Trans-masc Fashion and the Representation of Masculinity. Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, Vol 11, Issue Marginalized Identities and ADH Abstracts. p. 147 - 148. Intellect.
Korutz, Z. (September 20, 2023) A Look at Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion at The Design Museum in London. The "rebel" story told from the mainstream perspective. NoKillMag.com.
Korutz, Z. (September 16, 2023) Stuart Trevor LFW: Sustainable clothes handcrafted in London for a modern rock and roll self-expression of cool. NoKillMag.com.
Korutz, Z. (2022) The Babushka Scarf: A Symbol of a Cultural Revolution. Fashion Forward Zine.
Fong, E., and Booth, P. (2021) (Ed) A Celebration of Superheroes: DePaul Pop Culture Conference 2021. pp. 201-219. "A Man with a Secret. Fashioning the Camp Superman Body" (Korutz, Z). San Francisco and London: Blurb.
Korutz, Z. (May 8, 2020) “I’m just a natural enhancer” – Carl Ray on makeup, Michelle Obama and his love for women. FashionUnfiltered.com
Research Interests:
* Fashion Theory, Aesthetics, Philosophy, and Cultural Studies
* Identity, Power, and Representation Politics
* Hip-Hop, Streetwear and Black Arts Movement
* Identity, Gender and Sexualities Studies
* Media, Marketing, Advertising and Communications
* AI and Digital Emerging Technologies
Speaking Engagements:
University of East London, School of Arts and Creative Industries, "The Virgil Abloh Effect Theory" (London, U.K.) - 2025
The University of Westminster: "What is fashion?" Conference, , "The Virgil Abloh Effect Theory" (London, U.K.) - 2025
The Hungarian Academy of Arts, Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology, the University of Pécs’s Department of Applied Arts, and Department of Communication and Media Studies: Transcultural Fashion/Costume Narratives Conference, "The Virgil Abloh Effect Theory" (Budapest, Hungary) - 2025
Association of Dress Historians x Central Saint Martins: Beau Brummel Conference, "What Would Virgil do with Dentistry?" (London, U.K.) - 2024
Drexel University: Ad-Dressing Margins Historically Underrepresented Fashion & Style Conference, "Both& Apparel’s “Boys, Boys, Boys” Ad Campaign: SexAppeal of Transmasc Fashion and the Representation of Masculinity" (Philadelphia, PA) - 2023
New Jersey Pride (Jersey City, NJ) - 2023
University of West London, "Is Virgil Abloh An Art Movement" (London, U.K.) - 2023
New York City College of Technology, "Write Your Own Story" (Brooklyn, NY) - 2022
Fashion Forward’s Symposium on Fashion & Body, "Fashioning the ‘Camp’ Superman Body" (YouTube) - 2021
Drexel University Fashion, Style and Queer Conference, "Fashioning the ‘Camp’ Superman Body" (Philadelphia, PA) - 2021
DePaul University Pop Culture Conference, "Fashioning the ‘Camp’ Superman Body" (Chicago, IL) - 2021
Neverfade Factory Workshop (London, U.K.) - 2021
London College of Fashion (London, U.K.) - 2021
Central Saint Martins (London, U.K.) - 2021
Education:
Massey University, School of Design - PhD Candidate (Expected 2026)
Central Saint Martins- MA (Distinction), Fashion Communication: Fashion Critical Studies
Graham Webb International Academy of Hair-Diploma
Shippensburg University of Penn.- BA, Communications
Professional Affiliations:
2024-Present Reviews Editor, Journalof Asia Pacific Pop Culture (Penn State University Press)
2023-Present EditorialAdvisory Board Member, Fashion, Style & Popular Culture Journal (Intellect)
2023-Present Member, International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP)
2023-Present Advisory Board Member, International Brazilian Opera Company (IBOC)
2023 Mid-Atlantic Regional Co-Chair, Costume Society of America (CSA)
2021 Co-Chair Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Society for Gendered Professionals (SGP)
2019 Board Member, The American Advertising Federation
2017 Appointed Commissioner, Washington, D.C. Commission on Fashion Arts and Events