A $400,000 donation from philanthropist Ruth Ann Harnisch via the Harnisch Foundation is bolstering two of FIT’s scholarly initiatives. The gift, with $300,000 directed toward FIT’s Special Collections and $100,000 toward the Fashion History Timeline, funds archival processing and academic investigation.
In Special Collections, the donation will be used in support of approximately 400 linear feet of rare archival materials. Head of the unit Tiffany Nixon noted how the funding will be used to hire a temporary processing archivist and will also allow the team to enrich their catalog.
Researchers, students, and historians will soon have searchable access to major collections, including the fashion illustration archives of Gladys Perint Palmer, Kenneth Paul Block, Robert Passantino, and Robert Melendez; the papers of art director and hair journalist Helen Oppenheim; and the papers of visual merchandising designer Lucy Bouwman.
For the Fashion History Timeline, created and led by History of Art Professor Justine De Young, the $100,000 investment will expand from its original focus on Western fashion to become a more comprehensive global resource. The investment expands the Timeline’s scope by allowing De Young to commission scholarly overviews of dress histories across Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania. Moreover, the funds will help to document firsthand knowledge and combat cultural appropriation via oral histories with Indigenous and other underrepresented designers.
Additionally, the monetary boost for the Timeline will help faculty fellows weave global fashion history directly into courses and fund editorial interns to develop student research guides and instructional materials. De Young will also launch a refreshed website design and weekly newsletter.
Originating as an FIT classroom project and launched publicly in 2019, the open-access Fashion History Timeline now draws nearly 7,000 daily visitors during the academic year. To date, approximately 600 student authors across 43 majors have contributed more than 900 essays, bridging rigorous research with public benefit.
The Harnisch Foundation, created in 1998, supports “larger strategic projects aimed at creating a fairer world that works better for everyone, with special attention on gender and racial equity.” Examples include the Sundance Institute, Ms. Foundation for Women, Higher Heights Leadership Fund, and more.