Advancing Fashion Knowledge Through Innovation, Leadership, and Inquiry.
faculty research
Faculty research in The Fashion Archive challenges conventional narratives of fashion by merging material inquiry with emerging technologies and interdisciplinary frameworks. Moving beyond traditional art historical and curatorial models, faculty approach dress and objects as sites of innovation – investigating their social, political, technological, and scientific dimensions. Through methods such as digital modeling, multi-spectral imaging, and data visualization, their research repositions fashion as a critical lens for exploring contemporary issues ranging from sustainability to identity construction. These nontraditional pathways open new dialogues across STEM, design, humanities, and beyond—placing fashion at the forefront of experimental scholarship.
spring 2019 – present
peer-reviewed book chapters
Koontz, M. L., & Foster, S. P. (in press). Reflecting diversity: Transforming mannequins to represent humanity’s true colors in museum fashion exhibitions. In K. Libes (Ed.), Fashion’s missing masses: The representation of marginalized populations in collections and exhibitions of dress. Wilmington, DE: Vernon Press.
peer-reviewed publications
Thompson, A. J., & Koontz, M. L. (2021). Determining the True Color Measurements of Historic Dress with a Mobile Spectrophotometer and an Adapted Zone Grid System. The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum, 15(1), 119-134. doi:10.18848/1835-2014/CGP/v15i01/119-134
Koontz, M.L., & Amanda Thompson. (2020). Is it green? Evoking an objective digital color sense.” The International Journal of New Media, Technology and the Arts, 15(3), 15-24. doi:10.18848/2326-9987/CGP/v15i03/15-24
peer-reviewed presentations & workshops
Koontz, M.L., & Abbot, K.K. (2023, August 1-5). Unveiling the Molluscan World Through Fashion: Exploring Sea Silk and Crushed Shells to Ignite Undergraduate Interest in Research. [poster presentation]. 89th Annual Meeting of the American Malacological Society, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States.
Koontz, M.L. (2023, July 5-7). Creating Digital Fashion Exhibitions in a New Space [paper presentation]. Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Koontz, M.L., Abbott, K.K., & Reach, G.W. (2021, September 6-10). Using a Creative Synergistic Constructive Approach to Curate and Design a Collaborative Interdisciplinary University Museum Exhibition. Fourteenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum. Lisbon, Portugal. (link)
Koontz, M.L., Foster, S.P., & Graves, C.L. (2021, June 16-18). The Colors of Humanity Reflected in the Skin Tone of Mannequins in a Museum’s Fashion Collection [paper presentation]. Sixteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society. Perth, Australia. (link)
Thompson, A.J., & Koontz, M.L. (2020, September 8-10). Determining the True Color Value of a Historic Garment with a Mobile Spectrophotometer and an Adaptive Zone Grid System [paper presentation]. Thirteenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum. Lisbon, Portugal. (HD link) link
Thompson, A.J., Koontz, M.L., & Taylor, B.E. (2020, March 16-18). Paper & plastic: Flapper Style Re-imaged in the 1960s Fashion Zeitgeist [paper presentation].Fourteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices. Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, United States.
Thompson, A.J., & Koontz, M.L. (2020, February 28). The Color Conundrum: Ease of Use and Reliability of a Mobile Spectrophotometer and App for Recording True Color Measurements [demonstration]. Faculty Technology Showcase, Center for Instructional Technology, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States.
Koontz, M.L., & Thompson, A.J. (2020, January 26-29). What Color is it? The Digital Color Quandary [workshop]. New Voices: Georgia Association of Museums and Alabama Museums Association Annual Conference. Columbus, GA, United States.
Koontz, M.L., & Thompson, A.J. (2019, October 10-12). What Color is it? The Digital Color Quandary [workshop]. Digitorium: University of Alabama Digital Humanities Conference.Tuscaloosa, AL, United States.
Koontz, M.L., & Thompson, A.J. (2019, June 19-21). Is it Green? Evoking an Objective Digital Color Sense [poster presentation]. Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society. Lisbon, Portugal.
invited presentations
Koontz, M.L. (2020, November 8). The Fashion Archive Lab. Faculty Research Showcase, Office for Undergraduate Research, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States. link
Koontz, M.L. (2020, July 25). fashion bugs: TO DYE FOR . Bama Bug Fest: On the Web, Alabama Museum of Natural History, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States. link
Koontz, M.L., & Thompson, A.J. (2020, February 20). Is it Green? Evoking an Objective Digital Color Sense [poster presentation]. HES Faculty Research Symposium, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States.
Koontz, M.L., Thompson, A.J., & Pace, J.T. (2019, November 8). The Fashion Archive Lab [poster presentation]. Inaugural Faculty Research Showcase, Office for Undergraduate Research, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States. **
** denotes research/presentations with undergraduate/graduate students