FDM has a lot to be thankful about this Thanksgiving after their recent awards at the International Textile & Apparel Association’s annual meeting! The department was chosen as the best Optitex school, which is no surprise; Shu-Hwa Lin and Ju-Young Kang have worked hard to train FDM students to use the Optitex CAD program. This program involves 2D and 3D pattern-making, personal avatars, virtual avatars on which to practice draping and simulate fitting, virtual store design, virtual apparel design and cat-walks, spec sheets, marker making and fabric usage, and more. See the students’ 3-D Virtual Fashion Show on YouTube. Seven faculty and students attended the international conference and presented a total of eight research projects and designs. Honors were given to Shu-Hwa and Ju-Young, Kaimipono Kajiyama, the students of FDM 338 and 411, and visiting student Genny Lai. Senior undergrad Kaycee Yoshiika also won the Blanche Payne Award, which provides for an undergraduate student scholarship.