TEXTILES.ORG
The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) has announced winners of its 2021 Pitch It to Win It Student Competition.
The Herman and Myrtle Goldstein Undergraduate Student Competition highlights projects conducted by students from all areas of the textile and apparel supply chain. Projects submitted may include academic research, technology and/or process investigations, and literature reviews. The competition is designed to enhance the textile education experience for student members of AATCC, encouraging independent student projects both within the U.S. and internationally.
Winning first place and a $1,000 award was Sophia Luu of Iowa State University for “Optimizing 3D Fashion Design Software for Physically Disabled Populations.” Luu’s major is apparel, merchandising, and design: creative and technical design.
“The Pitch It to Win It competition has helped me learn how to communicate very discipline-specific research endeavors into accessible presentations that anyone can understand and glean significance from,” Luu says. “Additionally, this competition has further broadened my understanding of 3D fashion CAD systems and aspects that can be improved for inclusive apparel design purposes.”
Jessica Trippiedi of the Fashion Institute of Technology received second place honors and a $600 award for her project “Huubi.” Trippiedi is a textile development and marketing major.
“Participating in the AATCC Pitch It to Win It competition gave me the freedom to ignite my passions and challenged me to explore the limits of endless possibilities,” Trippiedi says.
Brooke McKee received third place honors and a $400 award for her “BooRay Clo” project. McKee is a fashion merchandising & apparel product development major at the University of Missouri.
“This competition taught me to be thorough in my work and to always back up my claims,” McKee says. “As the process went on, I learned more and more about sustainability, humbling me on the amount of information I thought I already knew.”