Sara Idacavage
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
PhD Student & Graduate Assistant
Sara Idacavage is a fashion historian, educator, and archivist.
Education
| Degree | Field of Study | Institution | Graduation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Polymer, Fiber, and Textile Sciences (International Merchandising Emphasis) | University of Georgia | Expected: 2024 |
| M.A. | Fashion Studies | Parsons School of Design | May 2014 |
| B.S.F.C.S. | Fashion Merchandising | University of Georgia | May 2009 |
Research
Both inside and outside of academia, my work focuses on finding ways to propagate sustainable thinking and inclusivity by encouraging people to reevaluate their relationship to clothing and everyday objects.
My current doctoral research explores how fashion education can be enhanced by using sustainability to frame historical inquiry, placing unsustainable ideas and practices in today’s fashion system within a broader historical context while encouraging a more transdisciplinary and problem-oriented approach to fashion history.
Teaching
Fashion History and Culture
• Related Courses at Parsons School of Design: Fashion History: Survey; Fashion History: Couture; Fashion History: Fusion; History of Fashion: Recitation; Fashion Culture
• Related Course at Pratt Institute: Contemporary Fashion
• Related Course at the Fashion Institute of Technology: History of Western Costume
Textiles and Materiality
• Related Courses at Parsons School of Design: Fashion Textile Survey; Materiality of Fashion
Research Methods and Design Practice (Parsons School of Design)
• Related Courses at Parsons School of Design: Advanced Research Seminar; Fashion Techniques: Couture
History of Interior Design
• Related Course at Pratt Institute: History of Interior Design
Prior Professional Positions
| Organization | Title | Years of Service |
|---|---|---|
| Parsons School of Design | Part-Time Faculty | 2016-2020 |
| Pratt Institute | Part-Time Faculty | 2017-2019 |
| Fashion Institute of Technology | Part-Time Faculty | 2019 |
| Parsons Fashion Study Collection | Collections Management/Faculty Worker | 2017-2019 |
| Ralph Lauren Library | Project Archivist | 2016 |
| The New School Archives & Special Collections | Fashion Specialist | 2014-2015 |
Awards
| Award Name | Awarded By | Year Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Campus Sustainability Grant | UGA Office of Sustainability | 2021 |
| Sweaney Innovation Fund | FACS, UGA | 2021 |
| Virginia Wilbanks Kilgore Scholarship | FACS, UGA | 2020 |
| Outstanding Contribution to the MA Fashion Studies Program | Parsons School of Design | 2014 |
| Virginia Wilbanks Kilgore Scholarship | FACS, UGA | 2008 |
| Hope Scholarship | UGA | 2005-2009 |
Service
| Organization | Title | Year(s) | Service Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Textile and Apparel Association | Member | Current | |
| Costume Society of America | Member | Current | |
| Costume Society of America | Planning Committee, 46th Annual Meeting and Symposium | 2019 - 2020 | |
| Popular Culture Association | Member | Current |
Outreach
Programming: Fighting Systemic Racism, Classism, and Individualism in Sustainable Fashion Education (UGA Campus Sustainability Grant with Sha'Mira Covington)
Advising: UGA's Fair Fashion Club
Advisory Committee
Dr. Katalin Medvedev (major advisor)
Dr. Patricia Hunt-Hurst (advisory committee member)
Dr. Elizabeth Adams St.Pierre (advisory committee member)
Dr. Kathryn Roulston (advisory committee member)
Areas of Expertise
Fashion history, fashion theory, museum studies, textile conservation, sustainability
Job Description
Sara Idacavage is a fashion historian who is currently working towards a doctoral degree in the Polymer, Fiber, and Textile Sciences program (International Merchandising emphasis) as well as a graduate certificate in Museum Studies at UGA. She received her bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising from UGA before earning her master’s degree in Fashion Studies from Parsons School of Design. Between 2016 and 2020, Sara taught courses on textiles, fashion history, and research methods at Parsons, the Pratt Institute, and the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has also served as a fashion specialist for The New School Archives & Special Collections and worked in the Parsons Fashion Study Collection, the Costume and Textiles Collection at the Museum of the City of New York, and the garment archives of Ralph Lauren and other prominent American fashion designers.
Journal Articles
- Idacavage, S., & Swadosh, J. (2017). Case study on cataloguing fashion adaptations. Art Libraries Journal, 42(1), 35–40. https://doi.org/10.1017/alj.2016.45
- Idacavage, S. (2016). David Bowie is. Fashion Theory, 4, 485. https://doi.org/10.1080/1362704X.2015.1100808
- Idacavage, S. (2014). Make it big. Do it right. Give it class: The curatorial legacy of Diana Vreeland’s exhibition of ‘Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design.’ Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, 2(1), 29–44. https://doi.org/10.1386/fspc.2.1.29_1
Publications
- Idacavage, S. (2021). New York fashion designers in the 1990s. In V. Steele (Ed.), Bloomsbury Fashion Video Archive. https://www.bloomsburyfashionvideo.com
- Idacavage, S. (2019). David Bowie’s influence on fashion. In J.B. Eicher & P.G. Tortora (Eds.), Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: Global Perspectives. Oxford: Berg. http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781847888594.EDch101721
- Idacavage, S. (2018). The development of fast fashion. In J.B. Eicher & P.G. Tortora (Eds.), Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: Global Perspectives. Oxford: Berg. http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/BEWDF/EDch101421
- Idacavage, S. (2018). Copying French couture for American consumers. In P.G. Tortora (Ed.), Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: The United States and Canada. Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic. http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/BEWDF/EDch031420
- Idacavage, S. (2016). Glam rock. In J.F. Blanco, M.D. Doering, P. Hunt-Hurst, & H.V. Lee (Eds.), Clothing and fashion: American fashion from head to toe. ABC-CLIO. ISBN : 9781610693097
-
Idacavage, S. (2014). "A Taste for Caviar": National identity ambivalence in American fashion between 1930-1960. (Master's thesis, available upon request). Parsons School of Design, New York, NY.