There are three purposes to this website:
- To advocate for fashion studies in general. This area of study has been pushed aside as “women’s work” for much of history, but is gaining recognition as a valid academic discipline. However, unlike other growing fields, such as social media or AI, fashion studies is not yet very good at justifying, explaining, or marketing itself. By visually and conceptually mapping the breadth of this area of study, perhaps newcomers to the field will have a better understanding of and appreciation for the wealth of information in dress and textiles.
- To advocate for the practice-based areas of this discipline. The work, research, and craft of costume designers has also been overlooked, even by those within the field. But of course the knowledge required to recreate a historical garment gives that practitioner the eye to analyze primary source material that may be elusive to a non-maker. As this discipline grows, it is vital that the hands-on approach to the field be valued.
- To advocate for the cross-cultural and cross-discipline aspects of this field. As our world becomes increasingly more digital, it is vital that fashion studies keep up with the shift towards global reflection – especially as it relates to the content of our field, but also how and where we discuss it. Many areas of fashion studies remain isolated, but by increasing knowledge of and conversation with our colleagues overseas and in other areas of the discipline, we will all benefit.
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This site was created by Chloe Chapin, who has an MFA in Design from the Yale Drama School and an MA in Fashion & Textile Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and is thinking about something in an even more academic category. She is the creator of FashionAndTextileMuseums.com, and you can see more of her designs, research, and projects on her website. Chloe taught fashion history at FIT from 2006-14, and is currently teaching theater design at Reed College.
This website was created in part thanks to the conferences Fashion Now & Then at LIM College, and Disseminating Dress at the University of York, which inspired the research for this project. Special thanks to Rebecca Kelly and Valerie Steele at FIT for the initial encouragement, and to Reed College for supporting travel to the conference in York.