Our February Curator Profile features Clare Sauro, the Director and Chief Curator of the Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection at Drexel University. In addition to her work at the Fox Collection, Clare also serves as an assistant professor for the university.

     Before finding herself at the Drexel, Clare followed a lifelong passion for clothing and textiles. “I’ve always loved it!” she confesses, “My parents swore up and down that my first real word…was ‘shoe’!” At the young age of nine, she visited the Costume Institute. There, her interest was further solidified by taking in a “Diana Vreeland spectacle.” While she wasn’t yet sure how to get there, she knew she wanted to curate a museum and work with fashion.

     As a teenager, she entertained thoughts of becoming a fashion designer, but her plans were thrown off when she realized her heart wasn’t in designing. When she entered college, Clare studied literature with the intention to become an English professor. After pointing out the recurring emphasis on clothing and textiles in her work, Clare’s advisor suggested an alternative solution–focusing on fashion. “He was like, ‘you need to explore that’…that advisor really gave me a push.”

     After entering the workforce for a few years, Clare returned to academia by gaining her master’s in Museum Studies: Costumes and Textiles at FIT. As a graduate student, she worked at the Museum at FIT, working her way up to Assistant Curator. After nearly a decade, she decided to leave the Museum at FIT after hearing about the need for a director at Drexel’s Fox Collection. The opportunity at Drexel University allowed her to teach costume, an element that was missing from her previous position. “I like to do a lot of things!” Clare explains, making the multi-faceted job a perfect fit for her. She has been there since 2008. Her work at the Fox Collection changes all the time. The workload ebbs and flows as the seasons change. Her needs and goals during exhibition research are different from the mounting of an exhibition. Likewise, as a study collection, the beginnings of the university’s quarters can be busier than the ends. The spontaneity means that she “has to roll with the punches.” This variety and the interaction with students contribute to the most surprising thing about Clare’s job, that she still “really loves her time with the collection even after all of these years.” The influx of new students each semester refreshes her energy and how she views the collection.

     When asked for advice for her younger self, she declares “don’t be afraid to look outside of the comfort zone of your discipline.” Correlations can be found between fashion history and different disciplines in the larger scope of the history field. These interdisciplinary collaborations can lead you to better connections with your audience. Her own advice has helped her guide the mix of students, fashion history enthusiasts, and alumni, who all flock to the Fox collection. Join them by visiting the current exhibition at the Fox collection Venus & Diana: Fashioning the Jazz Age, which focuses on women’s fashion of the 1920s, is currently on view until April 8th.

     In February 2022, Clare was featured in a Dress & Drinks webinar that can be seen on our YouTube channel. You can check out all of our Curator Profiles by clicking here.


~Profile written by Lauren Clark

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