Magali An Berthon Brings Fashion and Cultural Expertise to AUP and to the Musée du Quai Branly

Co-developed with Hana Al Banna-Chidiac, a curator formerly in charge of North African and Middle Eastern collections at the Quai Branly, the exhibition tells the story of the ways gold, a historically coveted yet expensive material, has been transformed—and made more accessible—to be used in textiles. Chidiac first reached out to Berthon a few years ago to discuss Cambodian textiles and asked her to join in to work on the Asian section of this one-of-a-kind exhibition that traces the connections, through gold, from Africa to the Middle East, to Southeast Asia and East Asia. “Not much has been done about gold threads,” explains Berthon. “We have produced a historical, technical and global show on that topic, bringing together a lot of the current research being done through different perspectives.” The exhibition will also enter into dialogue with contemporary Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei whose pieces Berthon describes as “very spectacular, ornate and heavily embroidered—almost theatrical.”

Berthon holds an MFA from the École nationale des arts décoratifs and a PhD from the Royal College of Arts in London, where her research focused on silk practices in Cambodia. Today, she describes herself as a material-oriented scholar who came to academic work from practice, after gaining professional experience in the fashion industry. This trajectory from industry to academia, common to many AUP professors, provides great opportunities for students to gain first-hand insight into the careers they might choose—not to mention the bridges they can build thanks to their networks.

While working as a designer for Kenzo, among other high fashion brands, Berthon became particularly interested in questions of sustainability and cultural appropriation. She began researching the stories behind textile craft with a focus on the cultural and artistic fashion aspects, mostly in Southeast Asia.

As faculty for AUP’s Fashion Studies major and Fashion track of the MA in Global Communications, Berthon finds herself well-positioned to spread her passion for understanding the use of materials in fashion, an aspect she sees as vital to our awareness as consumers. “Even if you work in PR, you need to know about materials and have a sense of how they are produced,” she states. “In response to the pressure of fast fashion, you need to consider the human aspects of textiles, sustainability, how people will wear them, and learn the value of things by touching them, by making them.” For Berthon, it is essential to educate the younger generations on how to consume more responsibly, an approach she takes through various courses, in particular her Fashion Systems & Sustainability course.

As part of two of her Spring courses, Fashion Making Practicum: Textiles & Techniques and Fashion Materials & Processes, students will visit the Quai Branly exhibition, which will run from February 11 to July 6, 2025. To accompany the exhibition, Berthon has also co-edited the catalog in which scholars and experts share the latest research on gold use in textiles, and has authored an article on Cambodia.

With AUP Professor Sophie Kurkdjian, Berthon is also organizing a field trip to the international textile trade show Première Vision in mid-February and is developing a two-year research seminar entitled “Fashion and Migration/s” with Kurkdjian and AUP Professor Renata Stauss.

Though some students may come to AUP and to Paris to study haute couture, Berthon reminds us that fashion is never just “about Paris.” Her expertise brings perspectives from across Europe and the world, challenging students to “decenter their perspectives on global fashion,” as she puts it. “Fashion in Paris is also workers in the fashion industry who often come from migrant or immigrant backgrounds,” she adds. “Being here allows you to access the many layers of the industry, when given the right lenses.”