Spring Break
Westphal hires first-ever full-time curator
Ashley Peskoe
Issue date: 8/8/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Clare Sauro, Fashion institute of Technology graduate and former assistant curator for the accessories and costume collection at FIT, has been hired as the first full time curator for the Westphal College's Historic Costume Collection, according to Kathi Martin, associate professor and head of the search committee for the position.
The collection is built up of over 7,000 pieces from various designers including Oscar de la Renta, James Galanos, Geoffrey Beene, Hubert de Givenchy and Madeleine Vionnet.
"We wanted someone who would know about conservation, and cataloging, and curating exhibitions, and bringing attention to the collection, engaging it in the classroom for the design programs … raise the profile on and off the campus, but we also wanted someone who teaches," Allen Sabinson, dean of Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, said.
Roberta Gruber, associate professor in the fashion design and merchandising department, explained how one can look at many pieces from one designer over the course of many years and see the changes the designer makes over time: "If you have a Chanel from the 20s and a Chanel from the 60s you can see the differences."
Sauro plans to change the rotation of the dressed mannequins each quarter in the front room of the collection space, or as she calls it, the "study room," so professors can bring their classes in to see the silhouette changes from the mid-19th century to around the 1960s.
"In my position at FIT, the museum employees were considered staff so you didn't have the opportunity to teach. I had something that I could give that I wasn't being allowed to give. So here I get to teach and work with a really cool collection," Sauro said.
Sauro will be teaching one class a term of the history of costume sequence.
"Every day that I am in here, I discover something that is amazing and exciting and that is really very worthwhile to me," Sauro said.
Currently, the costume collection is housed on the fourth floor of Nesbitt Hall. There will also be two graduate and work-study students assisting Sauro in the collection.
The collection is built up of over 7,000 pieces from various designers including Oscar de la Renta, James Galanos, Geoffrey Beene, Hubert de Givenchy and Madeleine Vionnet.
"We wanted someone who would know about conservation, and cataloging, and curating exhibitions, and bringing attention to the collection, engaging it in the classroom for the design programs … raise the profile on and off the campus, but we also wanted someone who teaches," Allen Sabinson, dean of Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, said.
Roberta Gruber, associate professor in the fashion design and merchandising department, explained how one can look at many pieces from one designer over the course of many years and see the changes the designer makes over time: "If you have a Chanel from the 20s and a Chanel from the 60s you can see the differences."
Sauro plans to change the rotation of the dressed mannequins each quarter in the front room of the collection space, or as she calls it, the "study room," so professors can bring their classes in to see the silhouette changes from the mid-19th century to around the 1960s.
"In my position at FIT, the museum employees were considered staff so you didn't have the opportunity to teach. I had something that I could give that I wasn't being allowed to give. So here I get to teach and work with a really cool collection," Sauro said.
Sauro will be teaching one class a term of the history of costume sequence.
"Every day that I am in here, I discover something that is amazing and exciting and that is really very worthwhile to me," Sauro said.
Currently, the costume collection is housed on the fourth floor of Nesbitt Hall. There will also be two graduate and work-study students assisting Sauro in the collection.
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