As assistant conservator for costume and textiles at Chicago History Museum, Julie Benner has had the privilege of working with CHM’s exceptional costume collection for a number of exhibitions, including Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair, Silver Screen to Mainstream: American Fashion in the 1930s and ’40s, Dressed in History: A Costume Collection Retrospective, and more. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Glasgow Centre for Textile Conservation and has held positions in conservation and collections management at the Field Museum of Natural History and the Denver Art Museum.

Michael Hall is the current costume mount maker, who has been working with the Chicago History Museum on and off since 2008. Beginning as an intern then as a contract worker, Michael has been part of some memorable costume exhibitions, including Chic Chicago, I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot, and Charles James: Genius Deconstructed, mounting over 400 ensembles, creating reproductions of existing costumes, and giving tours for the public.

Michael, a native Texan, has been a sewist for over 30 years and has a BFA in Fashion Design from the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, where he excelled in technical design and fashion history. He came to Chicago in 2006 and has come to call it home, in part due to his work at the Chicago History Museum, which has continued to inspire Michael about all things Chicago.

When not delving into historical dress, Michael enjoys spending time with his two kids, constantly finding new and ever-expanding hobbies to get into, and helping to teach engaging sewing classes through various library maker programs in the Chicagoland suburbs.