Alumni Heroes: Christina Gorman ‘92, Fashion Design

Christina Gorman’s Superpowers:  

Christina Gorman ‘92 knew an artistic career was in her future.   

While living outside Washington, DC, as a high school student, she dreamed about attending art school in New York City. Gorman’s parents preferred she enrolled somewhere closer to home. They were born in Philadelphia and felt comfortable in the city, so she enrolled in Moore College of Art & Design. 

Her parents loved that Moore was a historically women's college, and Gorman appreciated the opportunity to be immersed in art at an independent art and design college. Although she initially thought of an art education in Philadelphia as a “stepping stone” to New York’s fashion scene, she immediately found community and kinship when she arrived on Moore’s campus.  

“When I got to Moore, I felt a real sense of belonging,” she said. “I fell in love with this city, and almost immediately stopped thinking about New York.”  

Moore provided Gorman with opportunities to build new skills and advance professionally. As a Fashion Design major, she felt enriched by critiques and foundational courses in draping and fashion illustration, skills she continues to use in her career. The College’s hands-on educational setting also allowed her professors to get to know her and mentor her throughout her journey.  

While living in Philadelphia as a senior at Moore, Gorman walked into an Urban Outfitters store and asked to speak to someone in their design offices, which were located in the same building. She offered to work as an unpaid intern between classes. The experience allowed her to make connections and create some of the first-ever sketches for Anthropologie (in the location that would later become the brand’s flagship store).  

“During my experience at Moore, I was surrounded by people who were passionate about art. I came from a family with no artists at all. I went to a high school that was very focused on academics, and there wasn't much of an art program available,” she said. “I was finally a ‘fish in water’ and it felt really good. I made some great friends, and it was nice having a lot of common ground.” 

After graduating from the Fashion Design program, Gorman made her impact on the fashion industry, quickly advancing as a designer and design director with brands like J. Crew, Eddie Bauer, and Jones Apparel Group. She’s gone on to collaborate with major designers like Vera Wang, Nicole Miller, and Elie Tahari.  

Over the past 25 years, she’s also conceptualized and developed successful clothing brands for celebrities looking to enter the fashion sphere, including Christie Brinkley, Erin Andrews, L.L. Cool J, Daisy Fuentes, Lloyd Boston, and Selma Blair. 

Gorman now serves as senior vice president of design for interactive television at Xcel Brands, the parent company of several clothing lines. In this role, she leads the design for Mizrahi’s QVC collection, TWRHLL by Christie Brinkley, LB70 by Lloyd Boston and C. Wonder by Christian Siriano. She works with celebrities and designers directly, and champions new initiatives for shopping channels.  

Gorman says her career choices allowed her to lead, learn and remain rooted in creativity.  

“Building and reviving brands and collections is what I like doing. I also really like building teams and mentoring, because when you work with a great team of talented people, it’s more fun,” she said. “Throughout my career, I’ve been able to travel around the world as I learned about the development and production process. I think it’s important to keep learning all the time. There’s always something new to learn.”  

Her love of learning has translated into a passion for mentoring young artists and designers. Gorman was a recipient of Moore’s 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of alumni and their commitment to the College’s mission through creative expression and community engagement.