Professor Adrienne Jones

Board Member

Professor Adrienne Jones has taught in the Fashion Department of Pratt Institute for

more than three decades. She holds the honor of being the first Black woman to

achieve full-time, tenured status at Pratt. Professor Jones also teaches in the School

of Professional Studies, where she developed fashion curricula for the Adult

Education and Pre College programs. For more than 20 years, she served as Faculty

Advisor for Fashion Society, and twice received the Outstanding Organization Advisor

award for her work with, and dedication to the student club. Professor Jones was also

chosen to represent the School of Design as one of five scholars for the Inclusive

Pedagogy Scholars Program, which investigated and reported on the challenges of

diversity and inclusion on the Pratt Campus.

In 2014, Professor Jones conceived and co-curated the landmark exhibit, Black Dress,

which honored Black designers and addressed the lack of diversity in the fashion

industry. The Black Dress project has since expanded to a resource website, a

YouTube channel (featuring interviews with fashion legends), and Black Dress: Salon,

a gathering of notable fashion creatives to discuss fashion and culture. Professor

Jones is currently writing the companion book to the exhibition, and working on

expanding and touring the exhibit. A few years after the exhibit closed, she also

began working as a consultant for the National Museum of African American History

and Culture.

Professor Jones was chosen as one of the esteemed moderators for their recent

symposium, “Fashion, Culture, Futures: African American Ingenuity, Activism, and

Storytelling”. She has appeared in two documentaries, Dark Girls 2, which explores

the disquieting subject of colorism in women, and “Leveling Lincoln”, which explores

the history behind the landmark 1961 desegregation case in her hometown of New

Rochelle, N.Y.

In addition, Professor Jones is a painter, photographer, and a fashion designer

specializing in leather and suede looks for her private clientele.

Media and Speaking Engagements: Black Dress Talks: Models, 4/23; Remembering

the Soul Club; Fashion Institute of Technology, 2/2023; Black Dress Talks: Stylists, 11/22;

NBC News with Justin Krajeski, 2/2022; Tribute to Andre Leon Talley; The Marc and

Myra Show, 2/2022; Black Dress Talks with April Walker, 2/2022; Leveling Lincoln

Premier, September 2021; Fighting for Equality in Fashion and Academia with Taniqua

Ross of Black Fashion History, 9/2021; Fashion, Culture, Futures; Smithsonian NMAAHC,

10/2021; LIM College, 3/2021; Crew TV Network with Walter Greene, 12/ 2020; Beauty

and Gratitude with D’Angelo Thompson, 9/2020; ARTdustry Podcast with Stan and

Rachelle Robinson, 9/2020; Pratt Sustainable Fashion, 9/2020; World Bride Magazine

with Myrdith Leon-McCormack, 8/2020; Dark Girls, (Documentary) OWN Network;

6/2020; and Real Women Shine with Brittany Barber, 5/2020.