Sara Jablon-Roberts
Professor
JWU Faculty Since 2016
Sara Jablon-Roberts's career in academia began with costume design, primarily for dance and theater. Her costume credits include work with Broadway’s “The Lion King,” the original off-Broadway production of “Rent,” and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, among many others.
With an M.F.A. in costume design from New York University, her experience and education in clothing history, textiles, construction and communication led to teaching, which in turn led her to Iowa State University for her Ph.D. in Apparel, Merchandising and Design.
Now Jablon-Roberts's research agenda combines the creative practice of costume design and fashion design with historical dress, social and psychological theories of fashion, and the communicative qualities of appearance.
With these areas as her foundation, Jablon-Roberts is passionate about leading students through the discovery of the many and varied aspects of clothing, from textiles and sustainability to history and forecasting.
Education
- Ph.D., Apparel, Merchandising & Design, Iowa State University
- M.F.A., Costume Design, New York University
- B.A., English, University of Pennsylvania
Courses
- RTL 1015: Introduction to Retail and Fashion
- RTL 2122: Retail and Fashion Lab
- RTL 3075: Textile Design for Apparel and Home Furnishings
- RTL 3350: Visual Merchandising
- RTL 4050: Strategic Planning in the Fashion Industry
- RTL 6010: Concepts and Theories in Fashion and Merchandising
Extra Curricular Roles
Faculty Advisor, JWU Players
Member, Institutional Review Board
Professional Affiliations
American Theatrical Costume Association
Costume Society of America
International Textile and Apparel Association
Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association
United States Institute for Theatre Technology
Publications
- Jablon-Roberts, S., and McCracken, A. (2022). Undergraduate student perceptions of industry guest speakers in the fashion classroom. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 22(3), 76-88.
- Jablon-Roberts, S., and McCracken, A. (2022). Virtual guest speakers in fashion courses: Student experiences and expectations. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 41(1), 43-56.
- Dorie, A., Jablon-Roberts, S., McCracken, A., Sadachar, A., Shane-Nichols, A., Fiore, A. M., and Curwood, S. (2021). Comparing perceptions of effectiveness of on-campus and hybrid PhD programs. International Journal on E-Learning, 20(2), 112-136.
- Jablon-Roberts, S. & Sanders. E. (2019). The underlying definition of historical accuracy: Using Hillestad’s appearance taxonomy as a framework for defining historical accuracy in theatrical costume design. Dress, 45(2), 107-125.