Biography

Alyssa completed her undergraduate studies at URI, receiving a BFA in Theater and a BA in French. After working for nearly a decade in theatrical costuming, she decided to return to URI for a master’s degree. Her studies have focused on early 19th c. fashion history, ethics in fashion cultural heritage, and personal protective clothing design and testing. Since starting the program, Alyssa has worked as both a teaching and research assistant, served as president of the student chapter of American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists at URI, completed a collections internship in at Newport Restoration Foundation working with the fashion collection at Doris Duke’s estate, and started a full-time position in preventive conservation/collections. Her thesis focuses on re-creating a ca. 1810 gown to better understand the dressmaking process and dressmakers’ lives in that period.