Drawing on faculty strengths in art and design history, material culture, anthropology, and archaeology, we offer a variety of interdisciplinary courses that explore the complex roles of textiles and dress in broad historical and cultural contexts. In this medium-specific field, our training emphasizes the knowledge of the materials and techniques of textiles and garments as the foundation for historical analysis and critical inquiry. Our teaching fully engages with the BGC Study Collection of textiles (the strength lies in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European examples) and the rich resources in NYC museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History. The faculty’s own research in this field focuses on Europe, East Asia, and North America.
Thematic courses examine topics including textile arts and crafts from ancient to modern periods; textiles in global trade; representations of clothing and textiles in art; history of haute couture, ready-to-wear, and accessories; history of collecting and exhibiting fashion; fashion and cultural identities; fashion and literature; and jewelry and personal adornment. BGC is a member of the Fashion Studies Network. Past symposia featuring the themes of textiles, dress, and fashion have included Fashion, Objects, and Concepts and Rethinking the Wearable in the Middle Ages. BGC exhibitions in which students have been involved include Staging Fashion, 1880–1920: Jane Hading, Lily Elsie, Billie Burke; An American Style: Global Sources for New York Textile and Fashion Design, 1915–1928; Fabricating Power: Balinese Textiles, Carrying Coca: 1,500 Years of Andean Chuspas; and Threads of Power: Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen.
Thematic courses examine topics including textile arts and crafts from ancient to modern periods; textiles in global trade; representations of clothing and textiles in art; history of haute couture, ready-to-wear, and accessories; history of collecting and exhibiting fashion; fashion and cultural identities; fashion and literature; and jewelry and personal adornment. BGC is a member of the Fashion Studies Network. Past symposia featuring the themes of textiles, dress, and fashion have included Fashion, Objects, and Concepts and Rethinking the Wearable in the Middle Ages. BGC exhibitions in which students have been involved include Staging Fashion, 1880–1920: Jane Hading, Lily Elsie, Billie Burke; An American Style: Global Sources for New York Textile and Fashion Design, 1915–1928; Fabricating Power: Balinese Textiles, Carrying Coca: 1,500 Years of Andean Chuspas; and Threads of Power: Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen.
