Logo Courtesy of Carrie Moser

Each fall, the International Textile and Apparel Association holds its annual conference, and a special event of the conference is a Design Exhibition and Competition.

Dr. Cindy Istook, NCSU College of Textiles, was chair of the 2003 ITAA Design Exhibition and Competition. Dr. Istook selected a group of students and Dr. Karla Simmons, University of Missouri Columbia, to assist in handling the planning and production for the 2003 ITAA design exhibition.

Dr. Cindy Istook and Dr. Karla Simmons after the show.

There were over 300 submissions from designers for this competition. Items were categorized by the designer as either Target Market or Fiber Arts. Target Market designs were intended for a specific target consumer or audience, while Fiber Arts designs utilized specific surface design techniques. Additionally, the designer chose to enter either the Mounted Gallery in which the designs were to be hung or displayed on dress forms, or the Live Gallery where designs were to be worn by live models in a runway show.

Preliminary judging in both categories was conducted in July 2003 by professionals in many fields including textiles and apparel, art and design, marketing, and retail. The judges narrowed the selections to approximately 105 designs to be showcased in the Live Gallery and 45 designs for the Mounted Gallery.

Sail Jacket, designed by Necia Tou.

Meanwhile, Dr. Istook and her committee faced the enormous task of planning and producing the event for the conference. After evaluating the designs and abstracts, and recognizing the wide variety of tastes and fashions, the concept of Instinct vs. Impulse was developed as the show theme. This was rooted in the idea that designers create textiles and apparel for one of two reasons: through instinctual motivation, such as protecting themselves or keeping warm, and through impulsive motivation for pleasure or extravagance. The designs for the live gallery were categorized as either Instinct or Impulse based primarily on the designer’s explanation in the abstract. Finally, those two large groups were categorized into smaller groups/scenes based on their appearance or style.

Draisienne, designed by Carrie Moser.

A major responsibility was to create design ideas for a show logo, stage setting/design, lighting and music, and recruit models to wear the garments. The stage design employed large white canvas walls with projection lights behind them. As models waited their turn for the catwalk, they would pose behind the canvas, giving the illusion of shadows in the background. The set design also utilized a smoke machine and colored gel lights to evoke the feeling of an exciting and mystical performance. The most prominent stage component was a 9’x12’ rear projection screen that displayed a continual Flash presentation of the garment images along with information about the designer and each piece. After the introduction of the piece, there was live video feed to the projection screen, allowing the audience to see a bigger image of the live model on the runway. Original recorded music was provided by Stefanie Keto of WKNC 88.1 FM.

A second responsibility was to create an exhibition layout for the mounted gallery. The challenge was to showcase 45 designs in a very small space. The Mounted Exhibit team worked hard to arrange the display for an optimized “walk-through” viewing.

Sorrow of the Great Wall, designed by Lisa Parillo-Chapman and Jan Ru Wan.

Several awards totaling over $32,000 were sponsored and presented by various companies including Lectra, ATEX, SnapFashun, Wild Ginger Software, Paris American Academy, the Museum of Costume of the City of Paris, and Patternworks International. Participants from the NCSU College of Textiles whose garments were shown on the runway included Instructor and Ph.D. student Lisa Parillo-Chapman (in collaboration with Jan Ru Wan, NCSU College of Design), and graduate students Necia Tou and Carrie Moser.

The International Textile and Apparel Association, Inc. (ITAA) is a non-profit educational and scientific corporation dedicated to providing opportunities for interaction among textile, apparel and merchandising scholars in education, business, government, and industry. ITAA's roots were initially in the United States but the organization has expanded to include members in numerous other countries. ITAA advances excellence in research, theory development, education, creative work, and their applications in the global textiles and apparel field.

College of Textiles
P.O. Box 8301
Raleigh, NC 27695-8301
Telephone: (919) 515-6646
FAX: (919) 515-3733
JTATM Privacy Policy

Last Site Revision:
January 16, 2004