Biography
Kira is a Fashion Historian and School of Drama MFA Costume Design alumna based in Seattle. Prior to her work in academia, she designed costumes for theatre and film, most notably for Anna Deavere Smith’s House Arrest at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C., Lisa Peterson’s The Batting Cage at the Vineyard Theatre Off-Broadway, and Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie directed by Al Pacino at the Mark Taper Forum. Kira also worked for several years in the Department of Costume and Textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where in addition to her curatorial work, she oversaw the Doris Stein Research Center for Costume and Textiles. Kira has taught Fashion History, Costume Design, Illustration, and Portfolio Development at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, UCLA, Mount San Antonio College, and Santa Monica City College among others. Kira’s academic work focuses on the history and sociology of the functional arts including clothing, architecture, furniture, graphic and commercial design.