This past spring, the MA Fashion Studies students had the opportunity to create original content for the Europeana Fashion International Association’s online social media platforms. The students were able to delve into the company’s digital archive and develop their own narratives with specific themes in fashion studies throughout history. On Wednesday, Oct. 11th, they presented their findings in the Parsons Paris Gallery in conjunction with a roundtable discussion hosted by Dr. Veronique Pouillard from the University of Oslo, and Marta Franceschini who is responsible for online communications at Europeana Fashion. The discussion centered around some of the major topics involving European fashion institutions and the preservation of their historical archives.

Dr. Pouillard began the conversation speaking about her newly released book European Fashion: The Creation of a Global Industry, and her research involving the the transatlantic history of European fashion in conjunction with the intellectual property rights strategies which took place during the early 20th century in the Paris haute couture industry. Dr. Pouillard is interested in how national identities are formed and how creative industries are organized within the European fashion system. 

The conversation then shifted to Marta Franceschini and the online communication work she does for the Europeana Fashion website. The company’s massive online archive traces costume history and contemporary fashion from various museums, cultural institutions and well-known brands in the industry. Franceschini has been working on the communication strategy for the site, engaging critically with the archive and making it known and accessible to research communities throughout the world. She worked with the MA Fashion Studies students last term creating original content to be displayed on the site, which included themes such as “Les Objets Étrangers” (meaning within European collections that come from different ‘elsewheres’), “Europe vs. Europe” (explores satirical images and the way they reveal national identities), and “Silent Resistance” (historical materials linked to World War II). These collections are currently displayed on the Europeana Fashion Tumblr page.

Written by: Ariel Stark, MA Fashion Studies, 2017-2019

Photo by: Ariel Stark, MA Fashion Studies 2017-2019

Featured Photo Courtesy of: Europeana Fashion Blog