I’m Alison,
a design historian.

I study fashion, craft, and design in the United States from the late nineteenth century to present day. In my research I ask, what can objects and images tell us about gender and class?

I’m also interested in how artifacts get made, how makers learn their craft, and how work is organized. These interests are steered by my own background as a maker. As an undergrad, I studied fashion design at Pratt Institute and then worked as a womenswear patternmaker, followed by a stint as a 3D modeler in the jewelry industry. I eventually went back to school for a master’s in design history from the Bard Graduate Center; later I completed a PhD at Kingston University, London. Along the way I worked as a researcher at institutions like the Museum of Arts and Design and the Costume Institute in the Met. Since 2016, my focus has been teaching history, studio, and research classes to design students. I’ve taught at schools in the New York area and Detroit, and in August 2023 I became an assistant professor of Design at California State University, Long Beach.