TCD Faculty at 2008 International Textile & Apparel Association Conference

10 Nov 2008    

Dr. Nancy Miller presenting on "Networking Among Apparel Store Owners in Small U.S. Communities" at ITAA 2008

TCD was well represented at this year's International Textile & Apparel Association conference held November 5 - 9 at the Hyatt Woodfield Hotel & Conference Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. The conference theme was "Evolving Patterns" and it brought together hundreds of academics and industry representatives from around the globe. TCD faculty attending included Drs. Crews, Trout, Miller, Vigna, Kean and McLeod, Senior Lecturer Carol Easley, and department chair Michael James.

Nancy Miller and Diane Vigna, along with Iowa State University faculty member Terry Besser, were awarded the Best Paper for the Merchandising Track Award for "Networking Among Apparel Store Owners in Small U.S. Communities," the outgrowth of research that they've been conducting among entrepreneurs in rural communities, focused on the value and impact of cooperative and collaborative interfaces between small business owners. Also presenting at the conference were Dr. Barbara Trout, whose paper "Images of Willa Cather: Minimalist or Fashion Enthusiast" was part of the Historic and Cultural: Function to Fashion session; Dr. Harriet McLeod, whose poster "A Textiles and Clothing Student Organization's Recycling Effort: A Clothing Swap" was part of the Professional Development subcategory in Thursday's poster session; and Carol Easley, who participated in Friday's poster session with "On-Demand Presentations: A Face-to-Face Lecture Alternative."

Sabrina Stapp's The Mother corset, as shown in the Evolving Patterns exhibition catalogue

TCD graduate and undergraduate students and recent alums were well represented in the 2008 ITAA Evolving Patterns Design Exhibition. Tracy Rosenbaum's Josephine was represented in the undergraduate category as was Lisa Kalt's Desired Maria, juried into the Target Market category. Former graduate student Sabrina Stapp was represented by two of her corset designs, The Executive and The Mother, both executed for her final thesis project under the mentorship of Dr. Trout, who served as faculty sponsor for each of these students' ITAA submissions.

Next year's ITAA conference will take place at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue in Bellevue, WA, from October 28 through 31, 2009.