Job Details

We are seeking a motivated Graduate Research Assistant to support archival and historical research examining the work of a pioneering Japanese fashion designer from the 1970s through the 1990s. The research approaches fashion as an intellectual, artistic, and cultural practice, drawing on archival materials, historical documentation, visual analysis, and scholarly literature.

The Graduate Research Assistant will work closely with the project lead on:

Archival Research: Locate and document primary-source materials through library, museum, fashion-press, and trade archives, including historical collections, advertisements, fashion-week programs, catalogs, and ephemera.Literature Review: Identify and synthesize scholarship, criticism, journalism, and historical sources related to Japanese fashion, design history, and the international development of fashion from the 1970s through the 1990s.Translation Support: Assist with the translation and contextualization of Japanese-language sources, including interviews, brand publications, exhibition materials, and period press, where possible.Research Organization: Develop and maintain an annotated bibliography and structured digital archive of images and sources, organized by chronology, collection, geographic market, and recurring design themes.Digital Documentation: Assist with scanning, digitizing, cataloging, and documenting archival materials, photographs, and films, as well as transcribing primary-source interviews.Image and Ephemera Research: Identify and catalog runway imagery, advertising, editorial photography, and other visual materials, documenting publication dates, photographers, designers, sources, and historical context.

Project 3 - Prof. Ari Elefterin

This research assistantship will support the continued development of Professor Ari Elefterin’s “If you love chairs so much…why don’t you BE one,” an ongoing participatory research and performance project investigating relationships between bodies, objects, ergonomics, and sitting. 

Working from drawings and findings generated through previous workshops, the Research Assistant will help translate participant research into new physical forms and prototypes, contributing to the next stage of the project’s development and fabrication.The outcome of the semester will be a set of finished plywood props to be used in a public workshop, along with a full-scale “chair.” 

The position combines collaborative research with independent making and fabrication. The Research Assistant will work directly with Professor Elefterin while managing assigned tasks according to established project deadlines. This is a great opportunity for someone interested in participatory workshop creation, however it is also a suitable position for someone who is simply good at prototyping and form development.