Name: Kristina Stankovski

Role: Assistant Curator

What is your area of expertise? Fashion and Dress

What’s your background and how did you come to work at the Museum? I hold a Master of Arts in the History and Culture of Fashion from the London College of Fashion, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Sydney University. It was during my post graduate internship here at the Powerhouse Museum that I gained my first hands on experience of studying the past through fashion and dress. I worked on the Annette Kellerman collection, which was great. I then went on to work as a Curator, Registrar and Exhibitions Manager, in Australia and the UK, before taking up my current role.

Do you have a favourite collection object?

There are many favourites! The Iced VoVo dress made by Anna Plunket and Luke Sales of Romance Was Born in 2009 gives me a thrill every time I see it because it is such a unique and fun example of contemporary Australian fashion.

I also have a soft spot for the children’s gum blossom fancy dress costume worn by Pat Dale for her role in the 1938 Public School Children’s Festival. It is such a beautiful and rare piece and conjures my own childhood memories of reading May Gibbs classics. 

What are you working on right now?

I’m currently working on the Akira Isogawa exhibition, scheduled to open at the Powerhouse Museum in December.

What has been your favourite project or proudest work during your career at the Museum?

Working with Akira Isogawa and Roger Leong on the development of the Akira Isogawa exhibition has been a joy. But I am also very proud of curating “Jean Muir : A Fashion Icon” for the National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh in 2008. It was a real privilege to explore the designer’s vast archive – it holds more than 18,000 items – and see how she approached design.

Written by Kristina Stankovski, July 2018