Michaela Hansen specializes in the cross-cultural exchange and material histories of textiles and dress. As Guest Curator for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), she organized Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to Modernity. She served in LACMA’s Costume & Textiles Department from 2013 to 2023, most recently as Assistant Curator, and contributed to numerous acquisitions, installations, and exhibitions. In 2022, she co-curated the internationally touring exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse. She regularly lectures on historic dress and global textile practices, and her writing has appeared in major exhibition catalogues and academic publications. Alongside her curatorial practice, she is a USPAP-compliant independent appraiser of fashion and textiles, consulting with clients including Cora Ginsburg, LLC, and is a Candidate with the American Society of Appraisers.
Curatorial Experience
2023–26Guest Curator, Costume & Textiles (C&T), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)Curator, Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to Modernity — 75 ensembles, 8,500 sq ft, June–October 2026. Directs the permanent-collection checklist, secures acquisitions, and authors and edits the scholarly catalogue. Cross-departmental leadership across conservation, mounting, photography, exhibition design and installation. Partnerships with exhibition design firm Chu-Gooding and fashion designer Jason Wu on custom mannequins.
2022–23Assistant Curator, C&T, LACMAAssistant Curator for encyclopedic collection of over 35,000 costume and textile objects. Co-curator, Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (180 objects; 6,000 sq. ft.; Apr–Oct 2022) and international tour; co-author of accompanying catalogues.
2017–22Curatorial Assistant, C&T, LACMALed departmental exhibitions and installations; managed light-sensitive rotations, loans, acquisitions, donor relationships, and collection database; developed fundraising and public programs; and oversaw research appointments and classes in the Doris Stein Research Center.
2013–18Curatorial Assistant, C&T, LACMA and the Lloyd Cotsen Textile Traces CollectionFacilitated institutional collaboration between LACMA and the Lloyd Cotsen Textile Traces Collection. Catalogued, researched, and managed photography of 4,000 piece private study collection of global textiles and co-curated Fragmentary Tales: Selections from the Lloyd Cotsen “Textile Traces” Collection.
2012–13Graduate Fellow, C&T, LACMAResearched, catalogued and rehoused the Sirop Collection of 158 high-fashion garments spanning 130 years, and the B. Rich collection of 113 global textiles.
2010–12Graduate Intern, European Painting and Sculpture, The Art Institute of ChicagoSupported Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity exhibition and scholarly catalogue (2012–2013 Musée d’Orsay, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago).
2009Intern, Department of Fashion, Phoenix Art MuseumCollections and database management, cataloguing and mannequin dressing. Assisted with Medievalism: Fashion’s Romance with the Middle Ages and One for All, and All for One: The Jumpsuit.
Appraisal Experience
2025–Independent Fashion & Textile Appraiser and Consultant, Michaela Hansen Textile and Clothing AppraisalsSpecialized, independent appraisal of fair market value and replacement value estimates of clothing and textiles for USPAP-compliant insurance claims.
2026–Fashion & Textile Appraisal Consultant, Cora Ginsburg, LLCProvide cataloguing, condition reporting, and other collection services for high-end dealer of rare historic textiles and fashion.
2025–Fashion & Textile Appraisal Consultant, Deborah Miller Appraisals, LLCCatalogue artworks; research art historical and comparative sales data; and provide value estimates for USPAP-compliant appraisals of fashion, textiles, and works on paper for insurance and non-cash charitable donations.
Education
2010–12Master of Design, FashionSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
2005–09Bachelor of Fine Arts, Apparel DesignRhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Professional Development
2025Principles of Valuation (PP201–204), Personal Property AppraisalAmerican Society of Appraisers (ASA)
2025USPAP for Personal PropertyAmerican Society of Appraisers (ASA)
2016Lyon Technical Course — weave structure and fiber identificationCIETA
Exhibitions & Installations (Selected)
2026Curator, Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to ModernityLACMA
2026Co-Curator, Dress Codes: Abstraction in Ancient Peruvian TextilesLACMA
2026Co-Curator, Indonesian Batik: Wax-Resist Cloth and Cultural ExchangeLACMA
2025–26Co-Curator, Deep Cuts: Block Printing Across CulturesLACMA
2023–25Costume Consultant, Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern AbstractionLACMA · National Gallery of Art · National Gallery of Canada · MoMA
2023Textile Consultant, Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952–1982LACMA
2022–23Costume Consultant, Scandinavian Design and the United States, 1890–1980LACMA · Milwaukee Art Museum
2022Co-Curator, Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, MuseLACMA
2022–23Co-Curator, Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, MuseNational Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
2023Co-Curator, Alexander McQueen: Art Meets FashionMusée national des beaux-arts du Québec
2021Costume Consultant, Acting Out: Cabinet Cards and the Making of Modern Photography, 1870–1900LACMA
2021Textile Consultant, Not I: Throwing Voices (1500 BCE–2020 CE)LACMA
2019Costume Consultant, Every Living Thing: Animals in Japanese ArtLACMA
2019Assistant, Collectors Committee Installation: African American QuiltsLACMA
2019Courier, The Life of Animals in Japanese ArtNational Gallery of Art
2019Assistant, Power of Pattern: Central Asian Ikat from the David and Elizabeth Reisbord CollectionLACMA
2018Textile Consultant, Korean Rank Badge Light Sensitive RotationLACMA
2018Assistant, Collectors Committee Installation: African Ceremonial Barkcloth PaintingsLACMA
2017–18Costume Installation, Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915–1985LACMA · Getty Pacific Standard Time
2018Assistant and Courier, Icons of StyleGetty Center
2016–18Assistant, Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715–2015LACMA · Saint Louis Art Museum · Powerhouse Museum
2015Assistant, African Textiles and Adornment: Selections from the Marcel and Zaira Mis CollectionLACMA
2014Assistant, Fragmentary Tales: Selections from the Lloyd Cotsen Textile Traces CollectionLACMA
2014Assistant, Kimono for a Modern AgeLACMA
Books & Publications
2026ed. Hansen, Michaela. Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to ModernityLACMA · Delmonico Books/DAP
2024Esguerra, Clarissa M. and Michaela Hansen. “Reframing Fashion in the Exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse”Dress: The Journal of the Costume Society of America
2022ed. Esguerra and Hansen, with Somerville and Whitfield. Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, MuseLACMA · NGV Melbourne · Delmonico Books/DAP
2022Esguerra, Clarissa M. and Michaela Hansen. Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, MuseLACMA · Delmonico Books
2019Assistant. Esguerra, Clarissa M. The Power of Pattern: Central Asian IkatsLACMA
2016Assistant. Takeda, Sharon S., Kaye D. Spilker and Clarissa M. Esguerra. Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715–2015LACMA · Prestel, Delmonico Books
2016“Batik, ja, batik”: Wiener Werkstätte Batik from LACMA and Cotsen Textile TracesTextile Society of America Symposium Proceedings
2012Graduate Intern. Groom, Gloria. Impressionism, Fashion, and ModernityArt Institute of Chicago
Conference Presentations
2020“A Kati Rimo Textile Design by Alexander McQueen”Textile Society of America Biennial Symposium
2019“Crackle: The Indonesian Inspiration behind Wiener Werkstätte Fashion Division Batik”Costume Society of America National Symposium
2018“Limited Edition: Wax-Resist Dyed Textiles for Wiener Werkstätte Fashion”Costume Colloquium VI
2016“Batik, ja, Batik: Austrian Batik in Los Angeles Collections”Textile Society of America Biennial Symposium
2013“Jane Addams, Hull House, and the Subject of Clothes”Costume Society of America National Symposium
Lectures, Teaching & Public Programs (Selected)
2026Invited Speaker, Fashioning Chinese WomenWadsworth Atheneum
2026Co-Organizer and Speaker, Ninth R.L. Shep Triennial Symposium: Fashioning Chinese Women and Reiko SudoLACMA
2026Invited Speaker, Fashioning Chinese WomenChina Society of Southern California
2026Virtual Gallery Talk, Fashioning Chinese WomenLACMA Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellowship
2026Invited Speaker, Fashioning Chinese WomenTeaching About Asia Professional Network, USC Annenberg
2026Gallery Talk, Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to ModernityLACMA
2022Co-Organizer, Procession: An Evocation for McQueenLACMA · with San Cha and Olima
2022Co-Organizer, Flipping Stereotypes on Their StilettosLACMA · with Native Voices at the Autry
2022Co-Organizer and Speaker, Eighth R.L. Shep Triennial Symposium: McQueenLACMA
2022Webinar Panelist, “A Conversation with Michael Schmidt”LACMA
2022Invited Speaker, “Making the Exhibition: Lee Alexander McQueen”Virginia Robinson Gardens
2022Invited Speaker, “Textile Inspirations in Mind, Mythos, Muse”Textile Museum Associates of Southern California
2021Webinar Panelist, “Behind the Scenes: McQueen”LACMA
2019Assistant, “Costume Council: Elizabethan Embroidery with Melinda Watt”LACMA
2019Co-Organizer, Sixth R.L. Shep Triennial Symposium: Reigning MenLACMA
2018Instructor and Co-Organizer, “Reinventing the Woman’s Uniform: A Fashion Design Masterclass with Jason Wu”LACMA with MADWORKSHOP and Otis
2018Guest Lecturer, 2-D DesignPomona College
2017Lecturer, “The History, Anatomy, and Construction of the Pocket”The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Project Space
2017Visiting Artist, 2-D DesignPomona College
2014Co-Organizer, Early Chinese Textile Analysis pre-symposium workshopLACMA · with Zhao Feng, China National Silk Museum, and Elena Phipps, UCLA