One of the aspects of my work that I love most is the opportunities I have to conduct original research and writing and share my work with public audiences. Below are some of the research projects, publications, and public facing content that I have completed in the last five years.
Research and Writing
Undressing Fashion Conservation | Statement Sleeves
The Museum at FIT Fashion Culture Podcast
Before fashion objects can be exhibited, they are first examined by a textile conservator. If the condition of the object is too poor to be mounted or dressed safely, or too visually degraded to provide value in an exhibition, museum conservators conduct specialized treatments. They might stabilize an area of weakness or return an object to its original appearance as much as possible.
In this conversation, the curator of MFIT’s Statement Sleeves, Dr. Colleen Hill, and assistant conservator, Callie O’Connor, discuss the hidden work of the conservator on three key fashion displays in the exhibition.
Problematic Heels: The Identification, Characterization, and Treatment of TPU Top Pieces in the Museum at FIT’s Collection.
Considering Costume: the Conservation of Apparel, Adornment and Accessories. 14th North American Textile Conservation Conference Preprints Volume 14, 2023.
Abstract:
During the second half of the 20th century, low-cost petroleum-based plastics infiltrated the footwear industry leading to a rapid decline in the use of labor-intensive and expensive leather products. New manufacturing techniques allowed soles, heels, and heel tips (top pieces) to be molded and attached to shoes with direct injection molding as one operation, or with top pieces specifically, as separate injection-molded pieces later attached in the manufacturing process. The chief materials used in injection molding were polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic rubber (TPR), polyurethane (PU), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).
In fashion collections today, TPU top pieces exhibit characteristic and advanced degradation, posing specific conservation challenges when caring for and exhibiting modern and contemporary shoes in otherwise excellent condition. In collaboration with the Museum at FIT (MFIT) and the preparation of the 2022 Shoes: Anatomy, Identity, Magicexhibition, this paper briefly outlines the production of injection-molded TPU heel tips, identifies common shoe brands known to use TPU, and provides characterization of the degradation patterns with photographic examples of shoes in MFIT’s collection to aid in visual material identification. The paper then proposes several interventive treatments and preventive conservation solutions employed by MFIT’s conservation staff when working with this specific material.
Treatment of a c. 1912 Lucile Gown
Online Publication, Museum at FIT
Weighted silk and inherent vice were two topics introduced in the video series to highlight the particular conservation challenges of this gown.
Painting silk to fill losses of shattering weighted silk along the bodice neckline.
Patterning and reconstructing a replacement interior bodice lining.
Iron Degradation in Textiles: Applying a Paper Conservation Treatment to Textiles
Textile Specialty Group Postprints Volume 29, 2019
Co-Author: Alison Castaneda, MFIT Associate Conservator
Abstract: The combination of iron(II) sulfate and tannic acid has been used as a colorant for millennia. Together they form the main components of iron gall ink, which can have detrimental effects on paper substrates. Iron and tannic acid are also used together in textile dyes, resulting in textile substrates that show similar damage. This damage is believed to be caused by two mechanisms: oxidative degradation and acid hydrolysis. In 1995, paper conservator Johan Neevel proposed a multistep treatment using phytate and bicarbonate baths to neutralize both mechanisms. In the decades that followed, paper conservators have rigorously tested the procedure for efficacy as well as short-term and long-term effects. It has proven to be a reliable treatment option with minimal side effects. This study constitutes the initial steps in testing the treatment for expanded use on textiles. A variety of historical samples from study collections testing positive for free iron(II) ions were treated with different variations of phytate and bicarbonate baths used by the paper conservation community following the protocol set out by the Instituut Collectie Nederland. The samples were artificially aged and analyzed along with a control. Changes in the samples were evaluated empirically and the results assessed.
Jeanne Hallée: "One of the best of the early houses."
M.A. Qualifying Paper, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York
Abstract: In his 1941 book The Ways of Fashion, industry insider and editor of Women’s Wear, Morris de Camp Crawford referred to the French couture house of Jeanne Hallée as “one of the best of the early houses.” While arguably true, Crawford unknowingly made a far more accurate statement about the house in the fact that he misspelled its name. M.D.C Crawford, like many before him, referred to the house as “Jeanne Halle” rather than “Jeanne Hallée,” highlighting, among various other reasons, how the house has become virtually forgotten today. Jeanne Hallée, in operation from 1870 to 1924, was a French lingerie and couture house located primarily at 3, rue de la Ville-l’Evêque in Paris. In the nearly sixty years it was open, the house held several names: from Jeanne Hallée, to Jeanne Hallée Diémert et Cie., to Suzanne – Jeanne Hallée Successor, to Anna – ancienne maison Jeanne Hallée. Though forgotten today, throughout its history, the name Jeanne Hallée (and its various misspellings) maintained a consistent reputation and identity for the firm.
This paper aims to rediscover and detail the history of the house of Jeanne Hallée, from its opening in 1870 as a lingerie house on the rue Royale to its closure as a premiere couture house on the rue de la Ville-l’Evêque in 1924. To do so, in this qualifying paper I examine and analyze available extant material detailing the daily activities of the house and its owners. This includes surviving garments, fashion press, commercial documents and records, references in contemporary literature, and most revealing, in the personal letters detailing the life of the women who kept this solely female-run firm open for almost sixty years. This research reveals the lost identity of the firm for the purpose of contextualizing its many extant garments held in museums today, but it also sheds light on the inner workings of the couture industry as it evolved in this pivotal early period.