In addition to essay prizes from both the Design History Society and the Women's History Network, Olivia – who came to Brighton from her US home state of Idaho - also won the university's History of Art and Design programme institutional prize with her dissertation.
Entitled Worn in the Words: Women’s Relationship with Clothing and Textiles in the American West, 1836-1900, Olivia's essay examined how historic clothing provides a unique insight into the lives of women in the American West – something widely overlooked in the vast amount of historic and media coverage of an iconic period in US history.
Previewing her graduate show earlier this year, Olivia wrote: “Clothing as a whole offers a unique and relevant perspective on women’s changing roles and responsibilities in the American West because of its capacity to be a deeply personal object, its association with 'women’s work', and fashion being symbolic of culture and the 'civilized” in global Western thought.”
On her essay award successes, she said: “I wanted to thank my tutors for encouraging me to submit for these opportunities. All of you made my time in England an absolutely wonderful experience - I learned a ton and felt very supported. I hope to return to Brighton again one day.”