Berta Pavlov is a Toronto fashion industry professional and has worked for 35 years as a pattern designer. She has been a part time professor at George Brown College for over 20 years. Her expertise in flat and digital pattern drafting is based on her years of experience working in the industry creating line development and production ready patterns that include; fittings, grading and technical sketches. Her area of expertise is womenswear and she has also worked on menswear and childrenswear. Sustainable fashion design and pattern engineering for zero waste.
Since 2016 Berta has worked on historical research collaborations with Dr. Alexandra Palmer.
ROM’s Christian Dior award winning Christian Dior exhibition and publication (ICOM Costume 60th Anniversary Award 2022, Millia Davenport Publication Award 2019) was informed and transformed by Pavlov’s extensive analysis of the processes and techniques used by the House of Dior. See Decoding Christian Dior’s Delphine , Christian Dior History & Modernity, Alexandra Palmer, (technical illustrations and patterns by Berta Pavlov 2018)
Berta Pavlov was the Veronika Gervers Research Fellow 2020 analyzing “Three Eighteenth Century Gentleman’s Chintz Banyans in the ROM Collection: Mapping the Textile Patterns” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iSnt_W4c2Q
Forthcoming – 2026 Patterns of Fashion, Case Study : Three Eighteenth Century Indian Chintz Men’s Informal Gowns: Cloth, Cut and Construction 1700-1785, Alexandra Palmer, Berta Pavlov with Renuka Reddy and Deborah Metzger, School of Historical Dress.
Pavlov represented her research “Cristóbal Balenciaga: Master of Geometric Design”, in the First International Cristóbal Balenciaga Conference, October 1-2, 2020, Cristobal Balenciaga Museo, Getaria, Spain. The research presentation and publication are accessible on-line in the links provided through Cristobal Balenciaga Museum.
