Kate Sekules

Kate Sekules conducts research at the intersections of material culture, archaeological anthropology, and dress history, focusing on the history and theory of textile mending. She teaches a  new course “Mending Fashion” at Parsons School of Design (BA) and BGC (MA) and lectures at institutions both academic and corporate, from FIT and Columbia to JP Morgan Chase and the Omega Institute, and frequently teaches practical workshops. She has presented research at at over two dozen symposia (Textile Society of America, British Museum, Comité International d’Histoire de l’Art, Association of Dress Historians, etc), exhibited work (Museums and Galleries Network for Exhibition Touring, MAGNET, UK, Winterthur Museum, RISD Museum, Cornell Biennial, etc) and been widely featured in media (New York Times, Le Monde, NHK News, Japan, etc). She holds an MA in Costume Studies from New York University, and a BA in English and Drama from Manchester and Middlesex Universities, UK. Her book MEND! A Refashioning Manual and Manifesto was published by Penguin in 2020, with another, A History and Theory of Mending, based on her PhD research (Bard Graduate Center) under preparation.

MEND! A Refashioning Manual and Manifesto

Fashion Theory: Optics of Obvious Mending

Winterthur Portfolio: The One Important Science of Embroidery The American Stocking Darn 1830 to 1930 as Historical Document

Costume Society of America: Dialogues on Dress: Kate Sekules