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About Faith Cooper

Faith Cooper is a fashion historian, writer, and digital humanities practitioner whose work examines the cultural politics of dress, memory, and identity across Asian and Asian diasporic contexts. She is a PhD student in the Department of History at the National University of Singapore. Her current doctoral research examines dress cultures in mid-twentieth-century Singapore, with attention to gender.


Faith is the founder of the Asian Fashion Archive, a digital humanities project dedicated to documenting and expanding access to Asian and Asian diasporic fashion histories. Her research has been published in Fashion Theory, Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, and the International Journal of Fashion Studies. Her work has been featured by WWD, ELLE Korea, and Dressed: The History of Fashion. She has also contributed to the Fashion and Race Database, Fashion & Market, and The Museum at FIT.

Her broader practice brings together academic research, public scholarship, digital media, and cultural education. In addition to her writing and curatorial work, Faith has supported digital and public-facing initiatives with the Costume Society of America, the International Journal of Fashion Studies, and the University of Amsterdam’s China Africa Fashion Power project.

Faith holds two master’s degrees: an MA in Fashion and Textile Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and an MA in Brand and Fashion Management from Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei, where she studied as a U.S. Fulbright Student and received the Critical Language Enhancement Award for Mandarin Chinese. She also earned her bachelor’s degree in Art History and Museum Professions from FIT, with a minor in Asian Studies. She is a recipient of the National University of Singapore Research Scholarship and has received award recognition from Fu Jen Catholic University, the Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society, Costume Society of America, and Fashion for All Foundation.

With over a decade of experience across museums, media, and cultural institutions, including roles at the Smithsonian, Vogue, Christie's, and the Committee of 100, Faith is committed to bringing marginalized histories into view and fostering more nuanced understandings of fashion and cultural identity.

She has also served on committees and advisory boards for organizations including Apex for Youth, FIT, the NYC Museum Educators Roundtable, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and has volunteered with cultural and educational programs in New York City and Taipei, supporting youth mentorship and public-facing cultural education.

Professional
Background

University of Amsterdam, China Africa Fashion Power
Digital Content Creator (2025-Present)
Costume Society of America
Social Media Coordinator (2025-Present)
Fashion & Market
Columnist (2024-Present)
Committee of 100
Event Content Manager (2021-2022)
Christie's
Special Events and Strategic Partnerships Intern (2014)

Musical Instruments Intern (2012)
Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Education Intern (2013)
International Condé Nast
Fashion Intern (2011-2012)
Vogue
Fashion Intern (2010-2011)

Volunteer

Work

Fu Jen Catholic University
Digital Study Companion Tutoring Volunteer (2024)
 
Dream School English Assistant Teacher Volunteer (2024)
Apex for Youth
Middle & High School Mentor (2021-2022)

Educational Background

MA, Brand and Fashion Management
Fu Jen Catholic University (Taipei) — Fulbright U.S. Student
BS, Art History and Museum Professions
Fashion Institute of Technology (New York City)
  • Minor: Asian Studies

Professional Background

Social Media Coordinator (2025-Present)
Costume Society of America
  • The Costume Society of America fosters an understanding of appearance and dress practices of people across the globe through research, education, preservation, and design. Our network of members studies the past, examines the present, and anticipates the future of clothing and fashion.

"Fashion & Memory" Columnist (2024-Present)
Fashion & Market
  • Fashion & Market (F&M) is a multimedia platform that presents specialist content on Southeast Asian fashion, featuring its community’s interdisciplinary practices.

Event Content Manager (2021-2022)
Committee of 100
  • Founded in 1990, Committee of 100 is a non-partisan leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, and the arts.

Part-Time Social Sciences Faculty (2022)
Fashion Institute of Technology
  • Taught the course "Cultural Expressions of Non-Western Dress and Fashion," which introduces students to the sociocultural meanings of cultural dress.

Education Assistant (2014-2021)
The Museum at FIT
  • The Museum at FIT is the only museum in New York City dedicated solely to the art of fashion and features innovative and award-winning exhibitions.

Contributor (2020-2021)
Fashion and Race Database
Special Events and Strategic Partnerships Intern (2014)
Christie's
  • Supported staff with research projects and auction sales

Education Intern (2013)
Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
  • Provided support for educational programming, including the National Design Awards

Musical Instruments Intern (2012)
Christie's
  • Assisted in executing VIP events, auctions, and collaborations

Fashion Intern (2011-2012)
International Condé Nast 
  • Collaborated with editorial staff for photoshoots

Fashion Intern (2010-2011)
Vogue
  • Assisted staff with fittings, photoshoots, and events, including the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Awards & Grants

U.S. Student Program - Taiwan (2022-2024)
Fulbright Program
The Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society (中華民國斐陶斐榮譽學會) (2024)
  • The Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society of the Republic of China (中華民國斐陶斐榮譽學會) is an honor society based in Taiwan.

  • According to the criteria, the membership recognizes and honors those who are the top 3% of master’s graduates in each university that are excellent in academic performance as well as moral conduct.

Critical Language Enhancement Award- Mandarin Chinese (2022-2023)
Fulbright Program
  • The Critical Language Enhancement Award (CLEA) promotes the Fulbright Program's goal of cross-cultural exchange and dialogue through language study. 

  • Completed two semesters of Mandarin Chinese intensive learning

Extra Mile Award (2020)
Fashion For All Foundation
Jim Liles Award (2018)
Costume Society of America 
  • Awarded for my paper "Céleste Mogador: The Fashionable Rise of the Demimonde," which was presented at the 2018 Costume Society of America Southeastern Region & Mid-Atlantic Joint Symposium

Student Travel Award (2018)
Costume Society of America
  • Awarded for my paper "Healing Tina: Exploring the Power of Tina Chow’s Jewelry," which was presented at the 2018 Costume Society of America Midwest Regional Symposium

Committee Work

Social Media Editor (2025-Present)
International Journal of Fashion Studies
Associate Board Member (2021-2022)
Apex for Youth
  • Apex for Youth's Associate Board aims to help grow and foster the Apex community through volunteer recruitment and retention, community outreach and marketing, and the cultivation of young donors.

Diversity Council Committee Member (2019-2021)
Fashion Institute of Technology
  • The mission of the Diversity Council is to create a climate of inclusion and equality within the FIT community.

College Group at The Met Committee Member (2011-2014)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • The College Group at the Met is a group of twenty-five local college students who plan and produce events and programs for The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Volunteer Work

Digital Study Companion Tutoring Volunteer (2024)
Fu Jen Catholic University
  • The Ministry of Education FJU Digital Study Companion Tutoring Program, which promotes rural education in Taiwan.

  • As a volunteer, I taught lessons related to international perspectives and culture for an elementary school in a rural area of Taiwan.

English Assistant Teacher Volunteer (2024)
Fu Jen Catholic University Dream School Project
  • The Dream School Project is an English winter and summer camp for elementary school students in New Taipei City. Through engaging activities, games, and lessons, the camp's aim is to ignite a passion for learning English, while promoting cultural exchange and friendship.

Volunteer (2023)
FJCU Chinese Textiles and Clothing Culture Center 
  • The Fu Jen Catholic University’s Chinese Textiles and Clothing Culture Center collection comprises of more than 10,000 pieces of Taiwan Aborigines, Chinese Majorities and Chinese Ethnic Minorities, including textiles, costumes, accessories, related materials, and tools.

Fulbright Traveler Volunteer (2023)
Reach the World
  • Reach the World (RTW) partners with the Institute of International Education to engage Fulbright U.S. Student scholars in digital exchange with U.S. youth.

  • Documented my life in Taiwan for students in North Carolina

Middle & High School Mentor (2021-2022)
Apex for Youth
  • Apex for Youth delivers possibilities to underserved Asian and immigrant youth in NYC.

Professional Development

Ann Lowe Summer Intensive Program (2020)
Fashion for All Foundation
Museum Education Practicum (2019)
The Studio Museum in Harlem
  • The Museum Education Practicum is a ten-week intensive training program focused on conversations around artists of African descent, contemporary art practice, museum education, and programmatic strategies.

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