Meet our new Chair and trustees

Meet our new Chair Vanessa Jones and welcome our three new trustees.

Meet our new Chair, Vanessa Jones!

Vanessa Jones is Curator of Dress at the Rijksmuseum. Her expertise lies in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century sartorial objects and in diversifying interpretive methodologies employed to dress objects within the museum context. She is the curator of the current display Suit Yourself.

Vanessa first became a Costume Society member over a decade ago, and shares "I'm honoured to finally be leading the committee in the next chapter of its history. I'm looking forward to building more collaborations across multiple disciplines - to bring fresh ideas and knowledge to dress history.

As I work and live between the UK and the Netherlands, I'm incredibly keen to build and promote global links and spotlight more diverse voices in dress history and fashion narratives."

We have also welcomed three new trustees: Serena Dyer, Vicky Haddock and Sarah Howard. 

Vicky first became a Costume Society member over a decade ago and have previously served as an Ambassador and the Ambassadors Officer and Social Media Editor.

Victoria Haddock is a dress and design historian whose expertise lies in film costume and political dress. She has worked in the heritage sector for over ten years, specialising in curatorial and conservation roles. Victoria is also a freelance writer and speaker, design and has taught at the University of Brighton. Her first book The Life of Eva Perón First Lady, Activist, Actress and Philanthropist, that explores Evita’s life through the vital role that fashion played in her rise to power is due to be published by Pen & Sword Books in September 2025. 

"I’m thrilled to be joining the committee of the Costume Society as a Trustee. The Society has played a huge part in my dress history career, and I am excited to develop and promote the Society’s important work with young people and emerging dress historians and makers. As a previous recipient of the Yarwood Research Grant, I am keen to build upon The Costume Society and Heritage Crafts bursaries and awards to make the study of dress, costume design and production accessible for everyone."

Dr Serena Dyer is Associate Professor of Fashion History at DMU Leicester. She is the author of Material Lives (Bloomsbury publishing, 2021) and Labour of the Stitched (CUP, 2024), and she is currently writing her next book, Georgian Fashion: Britishness and Dress in the Eighteenth Century, which is under contract with Yale University Press. She is a maker as well as an academic. She was Project Lead on the AHRC-funded Making Historical Dress network, and she writes and presents the Fashion Through History digital series for @englishheritage, which showcases her historical recreation work. She was also previously a curator at the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture and the National Portrait Gallery.

"Joining the Costume Society was a very formative part of my becoming a fashion historian. I first joined as a keen teenager in the early 2000s, and it was a wonderful opportunity to share my love of fashion history with so many like-minded people of all ages. The Costume Society is unique in that it brings together fashion historians from all corners of the field: curators, makers, academics, and enthusiasts. These conversations are invaluable to the study of fashion history, and I’m excited about helping foster these connections."

Sarah was a member of the Southern Counties Costume Society from its inauguration in 1995, a committee member from 1997-2004 during which time she served 3 years as Secretary (1998-2001) and 3 years as Chair (2001-2004).

Sarah Howard is an Institute of Conservation accredited freelance textile conservator based in Winchester. After earning a Postgraduate Diploma in Textile Conservation from the Courtauld Institute of Art in the early 1990s, she embarked on a career spanning over three decades in the heritage profession, working as both a Textile Conservator and Conservation Manager.

Sarah’s professional experience includes roles with national museums such as the Imperial War Museums; local authority museums including Hampshire County Museums Service (now Hampshire Cultural Trust); independent museums in Salisbury, Portsmouth, Petersfield, and the Fashion Museum in Blandford; the National Trust; and historic churches.

"I am delighted to join the Society as an Executive Committe member and to support its aim to promote the study and preservation of historic and contemporary dress. In my new role I'm excited to meet other members, support the Society’s events and activities, and to share my expertise in preservation to help protect our heritage for future generations to study and enjoy."