Recently LIM College hosted its successful Fashion: Now & Then conference, this year with the theme dedicated to fashion as art. Among the panels were “Fashionable Shopping Bags as Art Forms,” “Gender Fluidity in Men’s Fashion,” and the epically titled “Fierce: The History of Leopard Print.” We had a back-to-school moment, and stopped by LIM’s Upper East Side townhouse for a few hours where we met Nicole LaMoreaux, reference and instruction librarian. She fills us in!
What’s the purpose of the panel?
It started six years ago by the former archivist, Lisa Ryan, who really wanted to give the students and faculty the opportunity to see different librarians and fashion professionals do presentations and network. It started as a one-day symposium, but it’s grown, and now the main purpose is presenting past, present, and future of fashion information. About four years ago we started doing subthemes. This year’s theme is “Fashion as Art,” so we included an artwork display, most of the presentations relate to that theme, and we incorporate business because that’s what we are here at LIM. There wasn’t anything like this when we started this and now it’s becoming popular at other schools and companies.
How did choose the theme?
It was something that was a little different from what we’ve done in the past. We’re trying to see how we can expand. A lot of the presentations in the past have been very business focused and we thought it would be nice to bring design in, because fashion is both of those things. Art and business are interrelated, but a lot of people think they’re separate. In fashion, that’s not really the case.
How did you pick the moderators?
We do a call for proposals and people submiit, and then the committee goes through and votes. We see if it fits the theme and what we’re doing. For the most part, we’ve been pretty lucky.
What are you thinking the subtheme will be next year?
It’s looking like sustainability. It’s an issue that’s becoming bigger and bigger.
