CURATOR OF
THE EXHIBITIONS
- The
Right Chemistry: Colors in Fashion 1704-1918
The Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA, November 2008 to January 2009;
Kent State University Museum (KSUM), December 2004 to February
2006
- Rudi
Gernreich: BOLD
KSUM, July 3, 2008, to May 31, 2009.
- Mood
Indigo
KSUM, September 27, 2007, to August 31, 2008.
- Vionnet
2007
KSUM, August 30, 2007, to January 27, 2008.
- American
Creator Series: Dean Harris, Jeweler
KSUM, August 9, 2007, to January 27, 2008.
- Native
Americans through the Prism of Culture: Edward S. Curtis &
the Legacy of Collectors
KSUM, in collaboration with Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, June
21, 2007, to June 15, 2008.
- Charles
James
KSUM, May 31, 2007, to February 17, 2008.
- Fashion
on the Ohio Frontier: 1790-1840
Riffe Gallery, Columbus, OH, November 2006 to January 2007; KSUM,
July 2003 to January 2004. One of fifteen finalists in "Best
Visual-arts Events of 2006" in the Columbus Dispatch.
One of a series of three exhibitions on late eighteenth and early-nineteenth
century fashion that received the Costume Society of America's
(CSA) Richard Martin Award for Excellence in the Exhibition of
Costume in 2008.
- Hair:
The Rise of Individuality, 1790-1840
Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, Lancaster, OH, October 2006 to
January 2007. One of fifteen finalists in "Best Visual-arts
Events of 2006" in the Columbus Dispatch. Second of
a series of three exhibitions on late eighteenth and early-nineteenth
century fashion that received the CSA's Richard Martin Award in
2008.
- The
Age of Nudity
KSUM, March 2006 to January 2007. Third of a series of three exhibitions
on late eighteenth and early-nineteenth century fashion that received
the CSA's Richard Martin Award in 2008.
- Chado
Ralph Rucci
KSUM, November 2005 to April 2006.
- Spirals
& Ellipses: Clothing the Body Three-dimensionally
KSUM, September 2005 to October 2006.
- Origin
and Synthesis: Selected Weavings by Janice Lessman-Moss 1994-2004
KSUM, September 2004 to August 2005.
- Dyed
in the Wool: Felt & Wearable Art by Horst
KSUM, May 2004 to May 2005.
- Stepping
Out: Fashion from the Permanent Collection
Massillon Museum, Massillon, Ohio, February to April 2004.
- An
Eye for Design: 18th & 19th Century Fashion and Decorative
Arts
KSUM, December 2003 to December 2004.
- A Legacy
of Know How: Twenty Years of Fashion Education at Kent State University
KSUM, April 2003 to May 2004.
- Of
Men & Their Elegance
KSUM, July to November 2002.
- The
Hours of the Woman of Leisure
KSUM, October 2001 to November 2002.
- Arnold
Scaasi: An American Icon
KSUM, June 2001 to May 2002.
- Charles
Kleibacker: Master of the Bias
KSUM, March 2001 to April 2002.
- Kaleidoscopic
Dreamcoats: Central Asian Ikat
Robes
KSUM, November 2000 to April 2002 (garments rotated after a year).
- Centuries
of Childhood
KSUM, September 2000 to September 2001.
- Posing
for Paper Dolls: Fashions from 1750 to 1900
KSUM, June 2000 to May 2001.
- A Century
of Fashion: Works from the Kent State University Museum and the
Center
for the Arts.
Center for the Arts, Vero Beach, Florida, April to June 2001.
- Isabel
and Ruben Toledo: A Marriage of Art and Fashion
KSUM, March to October 2000.
- Revolutionizing
Fashion: The Politics of Style
KSUM, April to September 2000.
- 2000
Spangles: Dresses for the Party of the Millennium
KSUM, November 1999 to April 2000.
- Japanese
by Design
KSUM, May 1999 to February 2000.
- A
Dance of Light and Color: Embroidered and Brocaded Garments of
India
KSUM, November 1998 to September 1999.
- Silhouettes
of Style: The Martha McCaskey Selhorst Collection
KSUM, June 1998 to June 2000 (garments rotated after a year).
- Textured
Reflections: Greek Regions and their Costumes
KSUM, November 1997 to March 1998.
- What Daisy
Wore: Gatsby Era Costumes from the Helen O. Borowitz Collection
KSUM, August 1997 to May 1998.
- Wrapped
in Splendor: The Art of the Paisley Shawls
KSUM, July 1997 to September 1998.
- At
Home at Tea Time: Tea Gowns for Distinction and Comfort: 1870-1920
KSUM, April to August 1997.
- Pucci!
KSUM, November 1996 to October 1997.
- Celebrating
Elegance
KSUM, September 1996 to January 1997.
- Celebrating
Collecting: Cora Ginsburg & Shannon Rodgers
KSUM, July 1996 to March 1997.
- Notable
Acquisitions
KSUM, January to December 1996.
OTHER EXHIBITION INVOLVEMENT:
- Coordinator
and editor of Dr. John Milton Lundquist, guest curator of the
exhibition:
Mandala and Temple: Sacred
Architecture in Tibet
KSUM, October 2001 to November 2002.
- Co-curator
with Jean L. Druesedow of the exhibition:
Gone with the Wind:
Woman, Race & Material Culture in the 20th Century
KSUM, August 1997 to August 1998.
- Curatorial
liaison and courier of the exhibitions:
-Dior: The King of Couture
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana, opened June
6, 2007.
-Halston Fits America: Fashion and Innovation from the Collection
of Lipscomb University,
Cheekwood Museum of Art, Nashville, Tennessee, opened May 14,
2005.
-Chanel,
Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, opened
May 5, 2005
(dressing for photography and exhibition).
-Sculpture and Drapery: The Art of Fashion,
The Historic Costume & Textiles Collection at The Ohio State
University, opened January 2005.
-Ptychoseis: Folds and
Pleats: Drapery from Ancient Greek Dress to 21st Century Fashion,
Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece, opened June 2004.
-Picturing French Style: Three Hundred Years of Art and Fashion,
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, Alabama, opened September 2002.
-Dressed for Action: AFI Celebrates Screen Legends,
Disney MGM Studios, Orlando, Florida, opened September 2002.
-Elegance, Glamour and Style,
Bruce Museum of Arts and Sciences, Greenwich, Connecticut, opened
June 1998.
-Dressed-up Photography
Columbus Art Museum, Columbus, Ohio, opened November 1997.
-Geoffrey Beene
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, opened September 1997.
-La femme mise en scène
Christian Dior Museum, Granville, France, opened June 1997.
-I Want to Take You Higher: The Psychedelic Era 1965-69
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, Cleveland, Ohio, opened
May 1997.
-Forties Fashions and the New Look
Imperial War Museum, London, England, opened February 1997.
-Japanese Kimonos & Prints
Massillon Museum, Massillon, Ohio, opened November 1996.
-The Age of Optimism
Riffe Gallery, Columbus, Ohio, opened August 1996.
PUBLISHED RESEARCH IN PRINT
Bissonnette, Anne. Chado Ralph Rucci. Kent, Ohio: Kent State
University Museum, 2005.
Bissonnette,
Anne. "Fashion on the Ohio Frontier: 1790-1840." Dress,
31 (2004): 57-71.
Steele, Valerie,
ed. Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. New York: Macmillan,
2005 ed. S.v.
"Tea Gowns," by Anne Bissonnette.
Bissonnette,
Anne. Fashion on the Ohio Frontier: 1790-1840. Kent, Ohio:
Kent State University
Museum, 2003.*
*
This exhibition catalogue was short-listed for the Costume Society
of America's Millia Davenport
Publication Award in 2005.
Bissonnette,
Anne. "The 1870s Transformation of the Robe de Chambre."
In A Separate Sphere:
Dressmakers in Cincinnati's Golden Age, 1877-1922, ed. Cynthia
Amnéus, 169-173.
Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech University Press and the Cincinnati Art
Museum, 2003.*
* This book received the Ruth Emery Book Award
from The Victorian Society of
America in 2004.
Bissonnette,
Anne, and Betty Kirke. "Fashion Design." In Computer
Sciences, ed. Roger R. Flynn,
91-94. New York : Macmillan Reference USA ; Farmington Hills, MI
: Thomson/Gale, 2002.
Bissonnette,
Anne. "Charles Kleibacker: Brilliance on the Bias." Threads,
March 2002: 66-69.
Bissonnette,
Anne. "Introducing Isabel Toledo." Threads, October/November
2000: 38-43.
Bissonnette,
Anne, and Alix Browne. Toledo Toledo. New York: Visionaire
Publishing, 2000.
Bissonnette,
Anne. "At Home at Tea Time: The Distinctive Tea Gown of the
Victorian Era." Lady's
Gallery, vol. IV, issue 5 (1998): 6-14, 58.
PUBLICATION
IN PROGRESS
Tea Gowns, Kent State University Press. Manuscript completed.
Funding found for full color printing. In the process of obtaining
copyright permissions.
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS
- Speaker,
"The Big Strip: Looking at Fashion, Underpinnings, Layers
of Dirt and the Body, 1770-1799." Frick Art & Historical
Center, Pittsburgh, PA, July 27, 2008.
- Speaker,
"Native Americans through the Prism of Culture: Edward S.
Curtis & the Legacy of Collectors." Stan Hywet Hall &
Gardens, Akron, Ohio, February 28, 2007.
- Speaker,
"Fashion in Transition, 1775-1817." Jane Austen Society
of North America, KSUM, Kent, Ohio, August 19, 2006.
- Speaker,
"Hair, the Rise of Individuality 1790-1840." Decorative
Arts Center of Ohio, Lancaster, Ohio, October 13, 2006. CSA National
Symposium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 28, 2005.
- Speaker,
"The Significance of the Tea Gown in 19th-century and 20th-century
Dress." Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
February 25, 2006. Akron Woman's City Club, Akron, Ohio, November
19 and January 27, 2005. Frick Collection, New York, New York,
June 7, 2003. Juried conference organized in conjunction with
the exhibition "Whistler, Women, and Fashion." Cleveland
Art Museum, Cleveland, Ohio, May 18, 2003. Lecture organized
in conjunction with the exhibition "The Gilded Age: Treasures
from the Smithsonian American Art Museum."
- Speaker,
"Fashion in the Jazz Age." Massillon Museum, Massillon,
Ohio, February 23, 2006.
- Speaker,
"Hair 1770-1800: Split Between Nature and Culture."
Gadsby Tavern Museum 2005 Costume Symposium, Alexandria, Virginia,
October 1, 2005.
- Speaker,
"Fashion on the Ohio Frontier: 1790-1840." Ladies Club,
Wadsworth, Ohio, September 16, 2005. East Cuyahoga Genealogical
Society, Cleveland, Ohio, April 4, 2005. Annual conference on
the Ohio Frontier, Fort Meigs State Memorial, Perrysburg, Ohio,
October 16, 2004. Western Reserve Sewing Guild, Bath, Ohio, August
25, 2004. Clothing Conference on "Re-Creating Clothing for
a Young Republic," Fort Meigs State Memorial, Perrysburg,
Ohio, April 17, 2004. Dunham Tavern Museum, Cleveland, Ohio, March
21, 2004. Zanesville Public Library, Zanesville, Ohio, March 6,
2004, in collaboration with The Pioneer & Historical Society
of Muskingum County. KSUM, Kent, Ohio, January 15, 2004. Conference
on "Life on the Ohio Frontier: 1790-1840," organized
by the History Department at Kent State University, KSUM, October
25, 2003.
- Speaker,
"Fortuny Tea Gowns: Synthesis & Significance." Upton
House, Warren, Ohio, September 20, 2005. Juried international
conference accompanying the exhibition Ptychoseis: Folds and
Pleats: Drapery from Ancient Greek Dress to 21st Century Fashion,
Athens, Greece, June 25, 2004.
- Speaker,
"2003 Stella Blum Research Grant Report: Fashion on the Ohio
Frontier: 1790-1840." CSA National Symposium, Houston, Texas,
May 28, 2004.
- Speaker,
"Stepping Out: Historic Style for Ladies & Gentlemen."
Massillon Museum, Massillon, Ohio, February 24, 2004.
- Panelist
speaker, "Digitally Printed Textiles: Their Potential Use
in Costume Collections and Living-History Museums." CSA National
Symposium, Providence, Rhode Island, April 7, 2001, Textile Conservation
Group, New York, New York, March 15, 2001.
- Panelist
speaker, "Collections Management Strategies." CSA National
Symposium, Providence, Rhode Island, April 6, 2001.
- Speaker,
"Tea gowns: Born in Eclecticism, Forecasting Modernism."
Juried presentation. CSA National Symposium, Providence, Rhode
Island, April 5, 2001. Program on "Reforming Fashion,"
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, September 30, 2000.
- Speaker,
"The History of the Wedding Dress." KSUM, January 18,
2001. Massillon Museum, Massillon, Ohio, February 19 and April
25, 1998.
- Panelist
speaker, "Surviving the Exhibition." CSA National Symposium,
Williamsburg, Virginia, June 1, 2000.
- Speaker,
"Locks & Frocks: Following the Fashions through the Ohio-Erie
Canal." KSUM in conjunction with the National Parks Services,
March 23, 2000.
- Speaker,
"Paisley Shawls." KSUM, October 11, 1997.
- Speaker,
"The Distinctive Tea Gown of the Victorian Era." Fashion
Institute of Technology, Graduate Program in Museum Studies, New
York, New York, April 24, 1997.
PROFESSIONAL
ACTIVITIES
- Participant
in a Pre-Columbian Textile Conservation Workshop in Lima, Peru.
Topics covered humidification, stabilization and mounting. January
12 to 23, 2007. Organized by Camille Myers Breeze, Director of
Museum Textile Services in Andover, Massachusetts.
- Grant recipient
for the Summer Research Grant organized as a joint collaboration
between the Musée de la mode de la ville de Paris, Musée
Galliera, Paris, and the Paris American Academy. July-August
2006. Research topic: accessories from 1770 to 1820.
- Reviewer
of manuscripts for Dress, the journal of the CSA, 2005.
- Grant recipient
for the creation of a documentary film on fashion and its social
history from the settlement of the Ohio territory through 1965:
The Ohio State University's Ohio Bicentennial Legacy Awards 2004
($7,500); SOG Grant, Ohio Arts Council ($1,000). Grants received
in conjunction with Gayle Strege, Curator, The Ohio State University
Historic Costume & Textiles Collection.
- Member of
the doctoral committee of Kristine Jamieson, student at the Union
Institute & University, Cincinnati, Ohio (2003-present). Interdisciplinary
Program with a Specialization in Sociology, dissertation topic:
"Riding toward Freedom: Women, the Bicycle, and Empowerment
in the late 19th Century."
- In 2003,
approached and sold the exhibition "Fashion on the Ohio Frontier:
1790-1840" to the Director of the Ohio Arts Council's Riffe
Gallery. The 2006 second venue generated income and exposure for
the Museum and University in the State's capital. Developed a
series of three late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century exhibitions
for 2006-2007 that linked the Riffe Gallery, the Decorative Arts
Center of Ohio and the KSUM to reach a broader audience and maximize
resources. This resulted in increased exposure to the KSUM's collection
and expertise. The Columbus Dispatch selected the two exhibitions
in its region as finalists in "Best Visual-arts Events of
2006." The series received the CSA's prestigious Richard
Martin Award for Excellence in the Exhibition of Costume in 2008
in tandem with "Poiret: King of Fashion," Costume Institute,
Metropolitan Museum of Arts, NY.
- Organizer,
"Architectural Tour of Northeast Ohio's Early Nineteenth-century
Landmarks," October 11, 2003.
- Stella Blum
Research Grant award winner, CSA, 2002.
- Masterminded
"Fashion on the Ohio Frontier: 1790-1840," a project
that received an Ohio Bicentennial Legacy Grant from the Ohio
Bicentennial Commission, 2001-2003.
- Creator and
webmaster, "The Kent State University Museum Web Site"
(www.kent.edu/museum).
New site inaugurated April 2001.
- Consultant
for the exhibition "Hard Hat to High Heels." Western
Pennsylvania Historical Society, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, March
2000.
- Coordinator,
Toledo Children Workshop, KSUM, March 11, 2000.
- Creator and
webmaster, "Bissonnette on Costume: A Visual Dictionary of
Fashion" (www.kent.edu/museum/costume).
Site inaugurated August 1999.
- Costume mounting
specialist for the exhibition "The Best of the Peloponnesian
Folklore Foundation." Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation,
Napflion, Greece, June 21 to July 2, 1999.
- Organizer,
"The Staff & Faculty Cultural Fair." KSUM, August
1998.
WORK EXPERIENCE
SHANNON RODGERS
AND JERRY SILVERMAN SCHOOL OF FASHION DESIGN AND MERCHANDISING,
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, KENT, OHIO
Adjunct Faculty
April 2001 to the present
Serves students and faculty through presentation of the KSUM collection,
participation in critiques and workshops and as guest lecturer.
Collaborates with faculty on selected research projects such as
"Digitally Printed Textiles: Their Potential Use in Costume
Collections and Living-History Museums" undertaken with Associate
Professor Melanie Carrico from the Shannon Rodgers and Jerry Silverman
School of Fashion Design and Merchandising at Kent State University.
THE METROPOLITAN
MUSEUM OF ART, COSTUME INSTITUTE, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Costume Mounting Specialist
August 1996
Hired on a contractual base to mount the garments for the exhibition
Two by Two. Garments mounted included both men and women's
clothes dating from the 18th century to 1996.
Intern
October 1992 to December 1993
Involved in the preparation and dressing of the costumes for the
exhibitions:
Diana Vreeland: Immoderate Style, November-December 1993,
Infra-Apparel, March 1993,
Fashion and History: A Dialogue, October-December 1992.
STEPHENS COLLEGE,
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI
Instructor, Fashion Program
August 1994 to May 1995
Taught classes in costume history, fashion illustration and design,
pattern making, draping, and a topic class in costume curatorship.
This last class resulted in the re-arrangement of storage facilities
and in the mounting of two exhibitions:
I dream of Jackie, February-April 1995,
Treasured Past, Heavenly Future: Selected Garments from the Stephens
College Historical Costume Collection, April-June 1995.
Selected by
students and included in Who's Who in American Teachers of
1996.
LASALLE COLLEGE
INTERNATIONAL, ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Fashion Program Coordinator
January to July 1994
Coordinator of the fashion design and fashion marketing programs.
In charge of interviewing and supervising teachers, creating pedagogical
material and schedules. Organized a guest lecturer program and cultural
visits. Supported the creation of network links with the Turkish
garment industry. Acted as academic counselor to students. Instructor
of costume history, fashion illustration, fashion design, and pattern-making
classes.
LASALLE COLLEGE
INTERNATIONAL, CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
Fashion Coordination Instructor
Summer semesters of 1989 and 1990
Instructor of the fashion coordination class, which organized the
graduates' fashion show.
UNIVERSITÉ
DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL, MONTREAL, CANADA
Pedagogical Advisor
December 1993
Preparation of course outlines in costume history for the new bachelor's
degree in fashion design scheduled to open in 1995 as a cooperative
effort between the Collège LaSalle and the Université
du Québec à Montréal.
THE MUSEUM AT
THE FASHION INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Assistant Conservator
October-November 1993
In charge of the preparation and mounting of the period costumes
(1700 to 1913) for the exhibition entitled Linen.
Intern
September 1992-April 1993
Helped in the preparation of costumes, modification and construction
of custom-made mannequins and dressing for the exhibitions:
The Genius of Charles James, February-April 1993,
Tribute to the Black Fashion Museum, March-April 1992,
Halston: Absolute Modernism, October 1992.
PERSONAL
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Photographer
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