Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
PROGRAM: Fashion and Apparel Studies

It’s my honor to have had the great opportunity to take part in the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) conference in Las Vegas in 2019. I was selected to display my design work to industry specialists, experienced faculty and, students from many famous fashion departments across the U.S. and other countries. The title of my presentation was “Design and Development of a Visual and Tactile Garment Therapy for Children with Autism” which was about designing a series of functional apparel to offer physical therapy for Autistic children by stimulating their visual and tactile senses as a method for calming them down. Every participant’s design was displayed in a conference room and all faculty and students could walk around and communicate with designers to talk about the design inspiration, limitation, and suggestions for the improvements. Luckily, my design was appreciated by a lot of people and won the 2019 French European Inc. Innovative Design Award.

The International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) conference is a huge platform where creative students, famous researchers, and skilled industry experts gather to present their advanced research outcomes. A lot of students who first attended this conference like me are able to acquire knowledge of the recent developments in the fashion industry and find out their future research direction. Faculties and industry leaders can find ideal students who can continue to pursue PhD degree at their universities or contribute to new apparel studies at their companies. Anyway, everyone is able to benefit from this conference.

And thanks again to my advisors and classmates who offered suggestions and encouragement to my design so that I have a so precious chance to be present at the ITAA conference.