Curinton Rippy, Karen
Biography
Karen Curinton Rippy graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with AAS and BFA degrees. While at FIT. Karen joined the Soul Club and was part of the Soul Fashion Show from 1980-1991, designing clothes and modeling for the annual show. Karen received the Designer of the Year title in 1990. Karen has been an adjunct professor at FIT for 32 years, and an adjunct faculty member at Parsons School of Design since 2005. In 2015 Prof. Curinton Rippy retired from the Pratt Institute after 16 years. Karen has had a full career in the intimate apparel, swimwear, and athleisure industry, working for Jack Murphy Lougewear, Bill Tice, Martha Colon, Victoria’s Secret, and Adore Me, an online lingerie company. At Parsons/The New School, Karen wrote the curriculum and taught the first lingerie fundamentals course in 2014, and also the swim/athleisure course in 2017. Karen has won many “Excellence in Design” awards and in 2013 received the AFD Faculty Award from the School of Fashion at Parsons. As a hobby, Karen makes ethnic fabric dolls and one of a kind treasures.