Student Bios

Molly Leonard: (Project Manager)
Molly Leonard earned a BA from the University of Michigan in Art History and German Studies in May 2018. Her prior work experience includes management in environmental theater and interning with FIT’s Fashion History Timeline. While completing her undergraduate coursework, she developed a keen interest in the role of clothing in portraiture, as well as a fascination with material culture. Her interests led her to FIT’s Fashion and Textile Studies MA program where she specializes in costume and textile conservation. She can be found on Instagram at @molcontent and on Twitter at @mollyeleonard.
 
Deirdre Morgan: (Content Advisor, Education Coordinator, and Public Program Manager) 
Deirdre Morgan received her BFA in Theater Production and Design with a concentration in Costume, Hair, and Makeup Design from Montclair State University in 2017. Her career led to her traveling around the world, styling wigs, and working on costumes for Disney Cruise Line. She came back to New York City and established herself freelancing as a wardrobe dresser, assistant designer, and makeup artist working on productions like Jersey Boys (New World Stages) and The Equalizer (CBS). She came to FIT to pursue a deeper education in fashion history and curation. Her current research focuses on the intersection of gender theory and the history of gendered fashion. She can be found on Instagram at @deirdrerosemorgan.
 
Zoe Taylor: (Writer)
Zoe Taylor earned her BA in Fashion Merchandising from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2018. Prior to starting at FIT she was a costume and textiles intern at The Valentine and a curiorial intern at the GW Textile Museum. Zoe enrolled in FIT's Fashion and Textile studies program to further examine the relationship between fashion and identity, and to pursue her interest in collections management. She currently works as a collections project assistant at MOCA where she focuses on rehousing, research, and care of the collection and archives.  
 
Sophia Daniel: (Writer)  
Sophia Daniel earned a BA from Georgia College and State University in Spring 2020. Her undergraduate studies were focused on museum studies, chemistry, theater, and art history. Sophia’s undergraduate thesis project was a co-curated exhibition and fashion show titled Unhindered Spirit: Embracing Imperfection. For this project Sophia worked with fellow student Grace Callaway to develop an exhibition from the start to finish. During her undergraduate studies, she interned at the Johnston-Felton-Hay House assisting in collections research. Sophia is currently completing her MA in Fashion and Textiles Studies at FIT, specializing in the conservation of costume and textiles.
 
Kripa Kewalramani: (Editor) 
Kripa Kewalramani earned a BFA in Textile/Surface Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She continued to pursue her passion for Art History and obtained a Masters, this time concentrating in Museum Studies. Whilst studying for her second degree, she interned in the Islamic Art Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as in the Asian Art Department of the Brooklyn Museum. Her passion for the creation and adornment of textiles led to museums. Every place she visits has culminated in her pursuing her second Masters in Fashion and Textiles Studies at FIT, specializing in the conservation of textiles.
 
Adnan Ege Kutay: (Object Manager) 
Adnan Ege Kutay earned his dual diploma BFA degree in Fashion Design from Fashion Institute of Technology and Istanbul Technical University. During his studies in Istanbul he worked at an art gallery and auction house specializing in Turkish fine arts. He holds a certificate in Collecting Contemporary Art from Central Saint Martins at the University of the Arts London. After graduating from FIT he interned and worked at Derek Lam, Armani Exchange, and Michael Kors in the design departments. While studying fashion design, Adnan's passion for collecting art and antiques inspired him to start collecting fashion with a vision of a fashion museum in Istanbul in the future. His collection, which focuses on postwar and contemporary fashion, consists of more than seven hundred garments by the leading designers of the 20th & 21st centuries. Pieces from his collection have been exhibited in museums in both the US and Turkey. He is working on launching an online museum to open his collection to researchers, curators, and the public. Adnan is currently pursuing his MA in Fashion and Textile Studies at FIT, focusing on both curatorial and conservation. His current research focus is on postwar French fashion for the American market. He and his collection can be found on Instagram @adnanegekutay and @istanbulmodamuzesi.
 
Melinda Abercrombie: (Lead Researcher) 
Melinda Abercrombie earned her BFA in Photography from School of Visual Arts in 2013 and her MA in Visual Culture from Aalto University in 2015. During and after her education she has worked in commercial and fine art photographic printing and archiving for several museums, galleries, and artists. She began to work with textiles and fiber as a medium within her own art practice during her undergraduate studies, focusing on American craft. She is currently enrolled in FIT's Fashion and Textile Studies MA program with a concentration in curation. Melinda hopes to pursue a career as an historian specializing in fashion and textile history of the Southern United States.
 
Hayden Cubas: (Research Manager)
Hayden Cubas earned her BFA in Photography from School of Visual Arts in 2009. Since 2010, she has worked for a fabric manufacturer specializing in printed cottons for the quilting industry. Immersed in this environment of textiles and quilt patterns, she took up the craft. Hayden enrolled in FIT's Fashion and Textile Studies MA program in 2019 to further explore her interest in material culture and pursue a career in collections management. She has interned with FIT's Digital Image Library and is currently researching the contemporary quilting landscape for her qualifying paper.
 
Giuliana Ciampoli: (Registrar) 
Giuliana Ciampoli graduated from FIT with a BFA in Fashion Design with a focus on evening wear and bridal design. After many years in the fashion industry working as an apparel designer and a print designer, with brief forays into costuming and interior textiles, she enrolled in FIT's Fashion and Textile Studies graduate program in 2019. She intends to pursue a more fulfilling career while capitalizing upon her knowledge and love of fashion working in the textile conservation field at a museum. She is currently researching and writing her qualifying paper, entitled Contemporary Ōzumō Through Dress and Textiles: Ritual, Materiality, Embodiment, an exploration of material culture in top-level competition sumo.

Maurizio Marrero: (Press Manager) 
Maurizio Marrero earned his undergraduate degree in Fashion Studies with a concentration in Merchandising and a minor in Visual Arts Management in 2020 from Columbia College Chicago. He previously worked at the Fashion Study Collection at Columbia College, interned at the Chicago History Museum in their costume collection, and is currently an intern at The Museum at FIT. His interest lies in the connection between interior and fashion design. 
 
Hillary Higginbotham: (Media Manager) 
Hillary Higginbotham earned her BFA in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2015. She worked in the Residential Life department at FIT upon graduation as a Residential Education Coordinator. Hillary enrolled in the Fashion and Textile Studies graduate program at FIT in hopes of combining her long time passion of art and fashion with her new found love of education. During her studies she also interned at the FIT Special Collections & College Archives. After completing her MA in Fashion and Textile Studies with a specialization in conservation, Hillary hopes to pursue a career in education at a museum or other cultural institution. 
  
Karen Perlman, PhD, MS: (Exhibition Historian)
Karen Perlman earned a PhD in Health Psychology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Karen’s clinical and research work culminated in interviews for the New York Magazine, CNN, L.A. Times, and other publications. Karen’s enduring love for fashion and textiles was nurtured by her grandparents, especially her maternal grandmother who sewed couture for Adrian, Ltd. in Hollywood from 1941-1952. Karen’s father collected museum-quality modern and abstract art, resulting in her early immersion in museums. Prior to studying at FIT, Karen completed preparatory coursework and volunteered at institutions, including, Zandra Rhodes Studio and FIDM. She also spent one year volunteering at the Coronado Historical Society as a Collections Management Assistant with a variety of duties, including archiving a historic clothing collection. Karen feels she is coming full circle by pursuing her MA in Fashion and Textile Studies at FIT, focusing on curation in order to embark on a new career as a curator in jewelry and accessories, and in collections management. Karen won a competitive two-year School of Graduate Studies Research Fellowship at FIT. Her curatorial project was entitled, 1925 International Exposition, Paris: Avant-Garde Modernism in Fashion and Textiles. Karen’s qualifying paper is titled, Adrian’s Designs of Opulence: Embellishment and Adornment as Embodiment in Film Costume. 
 
Minna Kim: (Design Coordinator)
​​Minna Kim earned a BS in biochemistry and pre-health studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2019. In addition to her science curriculum, she continued to take art and art history courses after spending four years as a visual arts major at LaGuardia Arts High School in New York City. She found an interest in conservation, a perfect integration of both art and science, through one of her chemistry electives. She loves research and spent her senior year doing an independent study on the treatment of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) on cancer cell lines. Upon graduating, she spent a year in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s paper conservation department as an intern. Currently, Minna is completing her MA in Fashion and Textile Studies at FIT with a focus on conservation. Outside of her program, Minna runs a knitting brand and is a model based in NYC.  
 
Ayako Tanihata: (Display Advisor)
Ayako Tanihata received a BFA in Textile/Surface Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. After working as a textile designer/photo retoucher, she moved to London, where she completed the Certificate & Diploma program at the Royal School of Needlework. She is currently enrolled in the Fashion and Textiles MA program at FIT, while interning at the textile conservation laboratory at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine to become a conservator/restorer. She loves cats, crafts, and travel. Her Instagram is @guriyamaguriko.
 
Alexandra Blach: (Conservation Advisor)
Alexandra Blach earned a BFA in Theatre Arts: Production and Design as a costume technician from Long Island University: Post Campus. She has previously worked at the Texas Shakespeare Festival and Little Theatre costume shops, and she works as a freelance stitcher.  Prior to beginning her graduate degree in Fashion and Textile Studies at FIT, Alexandra interned at Uffner’s Vintage Clothing where she organized and managed the collection in their new warehouse. Over this past summer, she interned at the Textile Conservation Workshop, where she assisted conservators in a variety of conservation treatments, to pursue her career goals as a textile conservator. 
 
Sierra Neale: (Graphic Designer)
Sierra Neale currently holds a BFA in Textile/Surface Design with a minor in the History of Art from the Fashion Institute of Technology. During her undergraduate years she interned simultaneously at a textile mill and jobber designing yarn dyed jacquards for upholstery and wallcoverings for contract interiors. In 2016, a collection of her experimental hand woven pieces was on display at The Museum at FIT for Textile Month. Since graduating in 2017, she has been working for a home textile manufacturer in design and product development and writing articles discussing fibers, textiles, and home products. Outside of work she runs a small business selling made-to-order home products printed with her designs and hand woven accessories. Her passion for textiles brought her to the Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice Master's program where she is further exploring their history and conservation. sierraneale.com. She can be found on Instagram @sierrajn3.
 
Jaya Misra: (Exhibition Designer)
Jaya Misra earned a BDes in Fashion Design from NIFT, New Delhi in 2020. There, she cultivated an interest in textiles, embroidery, and fashion history. While pursuing her degree, she interned with Good Earth and worked as a freelance model. She has an interest in visual documentation and has worked on the documentation of handloom shawl weaving in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, while interning with Bhuttico. Prior to that, she studied History for a year at Delhi University and interned at the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in their Intangible Cultural Heritage department. She is currently pursuing her MA in Fashion and Textile Studies at FIT with a focus on Conservation. Jaya is also an intern in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Education Department. Outside of her program, she has a passion for dance, having received training in both the Indian classical dance, Kathak, and the Argentine tango.