Ruby Hoette

What are you currently up to?
I am interning at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is an amazing archive and I am honored to learn how the collections are stored and cared for in every detail. The Costume Institute plays an important role in shaping the perception of fashion and establishing its social value through historical and contemporary references. Specifically in the field of fashion it is invaluable to share histories of textile and garments. I think this approach can have a positive influence on the way we as a society engage with clothing.

Having just graduated from the new MFA Fashion Design and Society at Parsons, I am working on some additional pieces and accessories for the collection that will be shown during NYFashion Week in September along with the collections of fellow graduates.

I am also working on an ongoing collaboration with Elisa van Joolen. Elisa and I have a common interest in reshaping ideas around clothing, time and space. We launched dress-series in 2011, which is a platform for independent projects, ranging from research to exhibitions and alternative presentations of fashion.

Who are 3 artists past or present who inspire you?
Sophie Calle, BLESS, Miranda July

Where do you hope to be 3 years from now?
I hope to still be researching, making and collaborating. I hope to be surrounded by people who inspire me, be open to new ideas and be making a contribution to a fashion system, which is continually more interdisciplinary and inclusive.

If you could have lived in another time period, which one and why?
I would love to have lived at a time when clothing was crafted to last, to be repaired and be handed down through generations. Looking at the pieces at the Costume Institute is so inspiring as some of them have lasted for many hundreds of years and you could still put them on today! But it is only relatively recently that clothing has become ‘disposable’ which leaves a lot of periods to choose from. If I had to be more specific: The 1920s when Coco Chanel was designing clothes that were simple, elegant and timeless and women wore hats and danced the Charleston!

What has been the most unexpected thing about NYC?
There are so many unexpected things about New York –in fact that is exactly its charm! Everyday and around nearly every corner something or someone catches your eye that you just would never have been able to imagine. I get so much energy and inspiration from all those little (and sometimes big) unexpected experiences.
Props
During the MFA Fashion Design and Society I received Student of Excellence Award, University Merit Award and was a recipient of a grant from the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund (the Netherlands). Recently some of my work was included in a book by Kate Fletcher and Lynda Grose called Fashion and Sustainability: Design for Change (published April 2012)