Research Excellence: Inclusive Design: FDM student Luphia Landry presented her study at the CTAHR Showcase & Research Symposium on April 25th, 2026. Luphia completed an independent study (FDM 499) with Dr. Minako McCarthy, focusing on inclusive design for creating garments for visually impaired people. She earned 2nd place in the Undergraduate Oral presentation category.

Congratulations, Luphia, for your excellent designs and research! We are proud of you!!

By Dr Minako McCarthy

Dr. Young Jin Bahng organized and hosted the 2026 UH Retail Business Plan Competition at RISE on April 24, in collaboration with the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE). Five finalists presented professional business plans that they had developed in the Fall 2024 FDM 437 Entrepreneurship in Retail course (Instructor: Mark Oandasan). The final judges were Dave Erdman (Director, Retail Merchants of Hawaii), Haruka Yamaguchi (Director, ExecHawaiʻi), Kristin Lencz (Owner, Aroma by K), and Dr. Andy Reilly (Professor, FDM).

This year, CTAHR (Dean Parwinder Grewal) provided $3,000, the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (Chair Rajesh Jha) contributed $2,000 in cash prizes and two iPads, PACE (Director Sandra Fujiyama) provided $1,000 for venue and refreshments, and Exec Hawaiʻi (CEO Kathy Fujiwara) contributed $300 for the Exec Hawaiʻi Award. Congratulations to the 2026 Winners!

• 1st Place – Skylar Conley: DARACK (Mobile Vintage + Local Pop-up) — $3,000

• 2nd Place – Deanella Ramos: VUELA CAPSULE (Travel Outfit Planning App) — $1,500

• 3rd Place – Camryn Ketchum: AUGUST (Organic Café + Local Marketplace) — $500

• 4th Place (tie) – Victoria Mincho: MADE FOR YOU (Inclusive Ethical Basics Brand) — iPad

• 4th Place (tie) + Exec Hawaiʻi Award – Violet Bishop-Young: MOMENTUM (Gym- to-Life Wellness Kit) — iPad + $300

We sincerely appreciate all of the support from the judges, sponsors, and FDM staff, students, and faculty. Congrats to all the achievers!

By Dr Young Jin Bahng

Associate Professor Young Jin Bahng, Ph.D., in Apparel Business Analysis, led a hands-on natural dye workshop using ʻŌlena—the Hawaiian name for turmeric (Curcuma longa)—in an exciting interdisciplinary collaboration with Dr. Koon-Hui Wang of the Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences (PEPS) department on March 10 th . Dr. Wang’s graduate students joined the workshop, turning the laboratory into a vibrant studio where science and craft intertwined.

The collaboration between the FDM program and Dr. Koon-Hui Wang’s PEPS lab reflects a growing interest in connecting textile research with Hawaii’s rich botanical heritage. Dr. Wang’s graduate students—trained in plant pathology and environmental protection—brought a unique scientific lens to the workshop, deepening discussions about the biological properties of ʻŌlena as both a plant and a dye material.

By Dr Young Jin Bahng

In the FDM 339 3D Retail Store Design course, taught by Dr. Ju-Young Kang, students learn visual merchandising principles and design exterior and interior retail environments using MockShop (visual merchandising software), Adobe Photoshop, and AI integration. Students create walls, ceilings, flooring, store layouts, fixtures, promotional posters, display windows, mannequins, and planograms, aligned with their brand, store, and merchandise concepts. Please view all of the students' Spring 2026 3D retail store design projects here.

This Spring semester, Dr. Kang enhanced the curriculum by integrating virtual reality (VR) headsets. This immersive integration enabled students to export and navigate their 3D retail store models on VR hardware, refine VR system settings such as floor level and scale, etc., and view their store models so realistically that they felt as though they were stepping into an actual retail store. It created a uniquely experiential learning environment.

By Dr Ju-Young Kang

FDM program was delighted to host students from Lahaninaluna High School for a hands-on introduction to Fashion Computer-Aided Design, Electronic Textiles, and Design & Sewing.

A big thank you to Dr. Reilly, Dr. Bahng, Dr. McCarthy, Dr. Kang, and Dr. Adeleke for making this event possible. Students enjoyed an engaging sewing workshop that built on their existing skills, explored basic computer-aided design in Fashion CAD, and experimented with innovative e-textile technologies, creating their own stitched LED Smiley circuit!

It was inspiring to see the students actively learning, creating, and imagining the future of fashion and technology.

By Dr Olaitan Adeleke