VALERIE MARCUS RAMSHUR
COSTUME DESIGN

Vestments of the Invisible: A Triptych. Wound (Red), Witness (White), and Warrior (Black). These reliquaries of lived experience. provide protection through presence, transformation, and remembrance.

What if memory could be worn? What if a geographical place could be stitched into form?15th-century heraldic tabards become the canvas for contemporary storytelling. Blending costume history, site-specific photography, and layered textile design.

“Librarians aren’t just resources, they’re co-conspirators in creative thinking, supporting both precision and productive wandering.”  ...

Before I ever stitched or wove, I began with color.  As the year winds down, I am continuing to share some of the many projects and paths...

Abstract figures crafted from colorful paint chips evoke and transformation in the "Paper Army Series." Paper can be fragile — but it can...

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE: Threaded Paths: An International Textile Initiative- 🧵 Call for Submissions: — no experience necessary. I’d...

Woven Narratives: Paper, Memory, and the Spaces Between This post discusses incorporating narrative into Aerial Rorschach through paper...

Some views require distance to make sense. Aerial Shot over Zurich, Switzerland As a child, I was captivated by the window seat of an...

Collage has always been a starting point for me. For decades, it has offered a way to tell small narratives, build mood boards, or work...

A year of wandering, making, and mapping — a year stitched from cloth, color, memory, and place.

This week on the blog: a birthday reflection on creativity and rest. Still making, still dreaming, still finding beauty in the becoming.

Esther Perbandt | Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear Collection Couture and contemporary designers often return to the tabard —a sleeveless,...

The Four Basic Garments: A Foundation for Dress Theory In dress theory (sometimes called fashion theory—a title I don’t particularly...

As you know, I run a costume design program at a major American university. Within our costume studios and workshops, and a long-standing...

Photo Mosaic of Burano Island located in the Venetian Lagoon, Veneto Region, Italy I am captivated by how images tell stories—not just...

There’s a particular kind of disorientation that comes with returning after time away—whether from a physical place, a creative project,...

Happy New Year !! Not to sound too medieval... Pray forgive the delay in the forthcoming treatises, for I find myself wholly engrossed in...

"Arms and crests are not mere decorations; they are the silent heralds of ancestry and achievement."  – John Gough Nichols Coats of arms...

"Every decoration on a garment or object is a statement, a shield, a prayer, or a celebration of identity." — Peter Frankopan, The Silk...

1: The Allure of Color in Travel – The Language of Place-Based Palettes “Colors are the deeds and sufferings of light.” – Goethe This...