Pratt Institute

Education

PhD Candidate
M.Phil, Decorative Arts, Design history & Material Culture Studies, Bard Graduate Center

Biography

Sonya Abrego is a PhD candidate specializing in twentieth century fashion, currently completing a dissertation on Westernwear in the postwar United States. Her work focuses on the interconnections between fashion and popular culture, specifically music and film. She has presented papers in New York, Montreal and San Francisco, worked in with the costume collections at the Museum of the City of New York and the Metropolitan’s Costume Institute, and has been the recipient of graduate fellowships from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Bonnie Cashin Foundation and the Autry National Center. In addition to scholarly writing Sonya is a senior editor at Worn Fashion Journal and works in the vintage clothing market.

Selected Publications:

“The Elusive Mr. Frederick: Searching for the story behind Hollywood’s naughtiest lingerie label,” Worn Fashion Journal issue #14 (Fall 2011): 30 – 33.

Review. “Fashion in Film” Festival, Museum of the Moving Image, New York City.

Fashion Theory. Vol. 16, issue 3, pp. 377 – 382.

Designer Biographies. Knoll Textiles, 1945-2010. Yale University Press.

Contributed four biographical essays profiling textile designers who worked for Knoll in the mid twentieth century.

“For Every Tatter In Its Mortal Dress: Costume and Character in No Country for Old Men.”

Chapter 10 in No Country For old Men: From Novel To Film.  Eds. James Welsh and Lynnea Chapman King. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009.

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“Re-Introducing Valentina: How New Research Can Bring A Designer Back to Life.” Worn Fashion Journal issue #9 (fall 2009): 10 – 13.

“Visiting the Uncanny Valley: What Old Weird Mannequins Can Tell Us About Ourselves.”

Worn Fashion Journal issue #7 (Fall 2008):  31 -34.

“Going Down in Flames and Rhinestones: Forgiving Elvis for the Jumpsuits.” Worn Fashion Journal issue #6 (Spring 2008). 24-27. An evaluation of Elvis’ Jumpsuits on display at Graceland.

“Exhibitionist: fashion in the world of museums.” Worn Fashion Journal issue #5 (Fall 2007): 15 – 17. Interviews with key figures in Costume Collections in North America.