The Authors

 

Keren Ben-Horin

I am a dress historian, curator, and author. With over a decade of experience as a fashion designer working commercially, I have built a full-rounded knowledge of the contemporary fashion world rooted in an historical perspective. Check out my website.

I have a BA in Fashion Design from Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Israel and an MA in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, theory, Museum Practice from the Fashion Institute of Technology. My interests include 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st century fashion; retail history in New York; Gilded Age America; the American photographer Alice Austen; Israeli fashion; and the history of the luxury brand Gottex which was the topic of her thesis paper and an exhibition I have curated at the Laurie M. Tisch Gallery in New York;  I am continuously expanding my interests, I research and write on fashion and its history, using it as a window to history in a broader social and cultural contexts.

Leia Lima

My interests in fashion are equally distributed between the then and the now.  In 2012 I completed an AAS in Fashion Merchandising Management at FIT, and I love to apply my knowledge of fashion history to the industry of today.  It’s amazing how fashion really does come around again!

For many years, I have independently studied historical clothing on a hands-on basis by examining and recreating dozens of garments from eras as early as the 1380s and as late as the 1940s.  With each of my costumes, I set the bar higher in terms of my own expectations of excellence in research and execution.  I never settle for just replicating the correct look, but I endeavor to make clothing in the manner it had been made.  You can see my costume portfolio at www.wearwhenwhy.com.

Laura Peluso

With fashion always as the goal, I graduated from Grove City College with a B.S. in Business Communication. In 2008, I spent most of my time in proximity to a sewing machine while earning a Diploma in Pattern Technology at the London College of Fashion. Now, after several years of working in marketing and business research, I’ve returned to school to study what I love most. My interests are varied, but I love the research process and find great enjoyment in sharing obscure facts and new ideas with friends, colleagues, and strangers on the subway.  www.designorphan.com

Emma Kadar-Penner

I received my Bachelor of Art’s degree from McGill University with a double major in English: Cultural Studies and Religious Studies. I have completed internships at the Textile Museum of Canada, Augusta Auction, and as a research assistant for an upcoming exhibition on Balenciaga and will begin an internship in the fall with the Museum at FIT. I am a second year graduate student in the Fashion and Textile Studies program at FIT.

Clara Berg

I have a B.A. from Earlham College with a major in history and a minor in art history.  I have worked at the FIT Library in the Special Collections and FIT Archives department and currently work at Museum of History and Industry in Seattle  . I love discovering the ways in which fashion deepens and challenges the established narrative of history. I am a native of Seattle and I have been surprised to find how little has been written about the history of fashion in my city. In my thesis, and possibly throughout my life, I hope to rectify the situation!

Fiona Tedds

To all extents and most purposes, I am English but recently transplanted to NYC after an extensive stint in California where I worked for the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and also as a freelance image consultant.  Prior to that, I lived in London for many years, toiling in the costume department of the National Theatre, gaining a B.A. in Communications from what is now London Metropolitan University and enjoying the craziness that a city like London has to offer to a freelance fashion stylist. I am consumed by all things to do with style and remain enthralled by the role fashion plays in both popular culture and history.  Only in my first quarter here at FIT and in the graduate program for Fashion and Textile studies , I relish the opportunity to expand my academic knowledge whilst savoring the delights of New York.

Ariele Elia

My background is a B.A. in Art History from Saint Mary’s College of California.  My specialty is archiving collection from corporate collections, designers and museums. I am also interested in pursing a career in museum education and public programming.  My interests are the history of the department store and Hollywood costume design in the 30s and 40s.