An avid seamstress, dancer, and aspiring designer from the age of nine, Jessica received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Costume Design from Florida State University's School of Theatre in 2006. But it was here that she discovered her true passion was not actually for designing new garments of her own creation, but for studying and caring for the creations of the past. This, along with a minor in Museum Studies, led her to pursue a Master of Arts in Fashion and Textile Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she graduated in 2011.
During her time at FIT, Jessica worked at the Museum at FIT, the Ralph Lauren Library, Calvin Klein, Inc., and The GAP archive. She also served as the head researcher for her graduating class exhibition, Vivienne Westwood, 1980-89, which was on view at the Museum at FIT from March 8 - April 2, 2011. The following August she co-curated her first exhibition at the Alice Austen House Museum on Staten Island,Dressed to Play: Sporting Clothes, 1870-1900.
She is an active member of the Costume Society of America and serves as a board member and Membership Chair for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Jessica is contributing to a forthcoming encyclopedia on clothing and fashion in American history, to be published in 2014, and currently works as the archivist for the ready-to-wear archive of Calvin Klein, Inc. in New York City.
Posted by Jessica Barber on January 27, 2013 in
Fashion
