Not a Fashion major? Not a problem!

Rose, staring quizzically at a 1960s Pucci Purse

My name is Rose, and I am a General Studies Major concentrating in the History and  Philosophy of Science and Technology. I have no background in fashion, design, or  even textiles in general. So why am I volunteering with Drexel’s FHCC?

For one, I love history. I also have experience working in museum settings, although  with a completely different collection. For my last Co-Op I worked at the Higgins  Armory Museum in Worcester, MA, and a surprising number of basic principles  from working with that collection have carried over to working with the FHCC.  Lastly, I want to work in collections in museums once I finish school. Volunteering  here allows me to see a lot of the work that goes into planning for, maintaining,  growing, and managing a collection.

I started the process of getting involved last June after talking to one of the students  who volunteers here regularly, and is currently doing her Co-Op with the collection. I  told her I was looking for a place to volunteer in Philadelphia and she suggested the FHCC, assuring me that my lack of knowledge about clothes and their history would be fine.

I began volunteering with a regular schedule at the start of fall term. Thus far I have found my inability to spot the subtle different between types of fabric, patterns, and designers to be a more or less non-issue. Even my initial pronunciation of Chanel using English phonics instead of French was forgiven (CHANnel, instead of sha-nell: when I said no prior knowledge about fashion, I meant it). In fact, I think sometimes my clear lack of knowledge is sometimes useful. And by useful I mean fun!

You see, with the exception usually of myself, everyone who works or volunteers with the collection tends to know something about the various objects there other than: they look pretty. They know who made most of the pieces, why a certain piece might be significant to the development of some style or manufacturing technique. They know why a piece isn’t just pretty, but also why it might be rare or in some cases very common. I get to have fun asking the questions that lead to stories or descriptions that tell me all of this. I get to see everyone else’s faces light up because they have an audience who has not heard this before. Or maybe it’s because they now have a legitimate reason to stop and admire the piece longer while they tell me about it instead of getting back to what they were supposed to be doing!

I find the experience of working in an environment where my questions are encouraged and where everyone is excited about the objects they work with to be extremely enjoyable. I look forward to the knowledge and experience I gain at the FHCC following me as I move on to new adventures after I graduate this Spring.

Rose Koven

Volunteer Intern