Dal Costume Studies Grad Profile: Joanna Crosby‑Wilson

2026 BA in Costume Studies 

Touching history: Dal Costume Studies grad finds her future in textile conservation

Before arriving at the Fountain School, Joanna Crosby-Wilson earned a classics degree at the University of King’s College.

“As much as I love academia, history research, and the linguistic work I was doing in classics, I wasn’t ready to continue with a graduate degree and then a PhD.” Joanna was looking for something more hands-on, and a dress history course during her classics degree had given her a peek into Dalhousie’s Costume Studies program.

Joanna took a gap year to “try a bunch of stuff”, found what became a perfect employment opportunity working behind the scenes in a museum, and figured out that textile conservation is what she wanted to do. 

Dalhousie’s Costume Studies Diploma at the Fountain School of Performing Arts became the next logical step. Known for its hands-on, studio-based learning, the program teaches how to construct costumes for a variety of uses.

Joanna and graduating classmates at The Fountain School of Performing Arts Historical Dress Presentation 2026 (photo: Kate Hayter)

A functional fit

Working with professional costume designer faculty members, Joanna has engineered stage-ready costumes for fellow Fountain School acting students to wear in DalTheatre’s stage productions each season.

While stage costumes need to look believable and accurate from far away and under theatrical lights, construction on the inside of a garment is driven by the practical demands of live theatre. “It doesn’t matter as much what the inside of a theatre costume looks like.” says Joanna.

“Tiny little hooks every inch down the front of a corset would take too long to quick-change into.”  says Joanna. “You may need elastics and snaps instead. It may also need to fit multiple actors.”

History is in the details

In other projects, what the inside of a dress looks like really, really matters. As she progressed through the Costume Studies Diploma, Joanna’s developing construction skills were consistently paired with advanced research skills.

That balance between hands-on learning and academic research comes to a head in the program’s fourth year “Historical Dress” final project, where students are tasked with recreating historically accurate garments in detail. As in, all the details.

“You need to research construction techniques and prove you’ve done it in the right way. It takes a lot of mental effort,” she says. “Before you ever cut anything, stitch anything, press anything, you need to have it all planned out.”

While she often worried that her hands could not keep up with her brain, she produced a garment she describes as “about as close to historically accurate as I could get.”

Joanna modeling her final assignment at the Costume Studies 2026 Historical Dress Presentation at the Joseph Strug Concert Hall. (photo: Kate Hayter)

Unwritten stories

Part of that research includes a broader material culture studies lens and a look at an object’s place in social history. It asks what physical objects, including garments, can reveal about the people who made and used them. Joanna is drawn to objects that hold stories that were never written down, stories of people who couldn’t afford to learn to read or write.

“I have a great interest in learning from material objects, because those stories are generally women’s stories, or enslaved stories.” says Joanna. 

Trained in a text-heavy discipline like classics, this way of thinking pushed Joanna academically to develop the skills needed for museum studies.

“My secondary source research skills are significantly better.” says Joanna. “My primary source ones are too, dealing with museum artifacts, photographs, and objects as evidence, understanding what they can tell you.”

What’s next?

This fall, Joanne is headed to Fleming College in Ontario to study object conservation, continuing toward a career working with historic textiles. The path is competitive and specialized, with only a handful of programs worldwide. But she feels ready.

.Joanna’s dream job? Working in a museum, handling and conserving historic garments, and getting to spend hours examining their smallest details.

“Touching old stuff is very good. I want to engage with history in that hands-on way.”