Tess Giberson was born in 1971 in a small town in New Hampshire. Her parents, both artists, had moved to the country after graduating from Rhode Island School of Design in the late 1960′s and raised their family with an emphasis on traditional craftsmanship and creativity.

After graduating from RISD in 1996, Giberson moved to New York and began her career working at Calvin Klein as a sweater designer for the Men’s Collection. After two years she left and free-lanced for several companies until she was ready to launch her own collection. The TESS GIBERSON collection began in 2001 and the following season she received one of the first Ecco Domani Fashion awards.

The collection, initiated from conceptual and thematic ideas, was known for the experimentation with traditional craft and detailed handwork, as well as continuous collaborations with artists and musicians. The fashion shows, incorporating music, writing, video, performance and installation, moved beyond a single collection blending outward into many fields of experience. Giberson has collaborated closely with her husband, artist Jon Widman, as well as other artists and musicians including a longtime collaboration with her sister, artist Petrova Giberson.