Circe Henestrosa

Academics

Circe Henestrosa

Head, School of Fashion
circe-henestrosa
  • MA (Professional Development in Cultural Leadership), The City University, London, UK 
  • MA with Distinction (Fashion Curation), University of the Arts London, London College of Fashion, UK
  • BA (International Business Management), Panamericana University, Mexico
     

Circe Henestrosa is a fashion curator. Her research looks at tangible and intangible heritage to develop new design languages. In particular, she is interested in looking at heritage as a medium to develop cultural enterprises in fashion. Her curatorial practice explores how garments and material culture inform and reflect social-cultural aspects of fashion within the exhibition context.

Prior to joining LASALLE, Circe held senior arts management roles at the British Council, working on collaborations and co-productions with artists and designers such as Damien Hirst, Mona Hatoum, Peter Greenaway, Dai Rees, Jimmy Choo and Vivienne Westwood.

At LASALLE, she has researched contemporary Asian fashion design, and has conducted research projects between Singapore, the Philippines, Korea and Cambodia, analysing and reinterpreting historical and traditional techniques into contemporary design.

Circe curated the critically acclaimed exhibition Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo (2012) at The Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyoacán, Mexico, and also co-curated the blockbuster exhibition Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up (2018) at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK. 

Circe is currently reading for her PhD at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, focusing on the areas of fashion and disability. 
 

Publications
  • Author and co-editor, Building a New Model for Museums in the 21st Century (2005)
  • Author and co-editor, Frida by Ishiuchi (Editorial RM) (2013)
  • Author and co-editor, Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up (V&A Publications) (2018)
Research and Practice

Exhibitions

  • Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up; Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA (2019)
  • Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK (2018)
  • Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo; Museo Frida Kahlo, Mexico City, Mexico (2012)

 

Conference papers

  • Learning through Disruptive Interactions, REDO Cumulus Conference (2017)

 

Practice-as-research

  • Conducted pedagogical research projects at LASALLE between Singapore and the Philippines, Cambodia, Korea and New York, analysing historical and traditional techniques to be interpreted into contemporary design through curatorial practice
  • Researched contemporary Singaporean fashion design in line with a fashion exhibition between Korea and Singapore
Research Interests
  • Fashion curation
  • Museums studies
  • Craft and heritage
  • Fashion design
  • Image making