Alumni News

Professor Andy Reilly and Graduate Student Jordan Antonio received the “Paper of Distinction Award” for the Cultural track at the 2024 conference of the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA).  ITAA is the premier organization for textile and fashion scholars and presents awards based on a rigorous selection process.  Reilly and Antonio’s paper was a case study of Native Hawaiian fashion designer Micah Kamohoaliʻi and how he utilizes cultural values to guide his designing and manufacturing processes.  This work highlights issues of agency, sustainability, and authenticity.  The paper will be published in early 2025.  Reilly and Antonio acknowledge this research was made possible via a HATCH grant from the US Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.  

By Andy Reilly​

FDM alumna Kristen Domingcil gave a guest talk in FDM 101 Introduction to the Fashion Industry on Tuesday, October 15.  Kristen and her colleague, Emily Fujimura, both work for Trendtex Fabrics and talked about the fabric business, from design to production and sales.  Kristen graduated in 2011 and has since worked in NYC for Ralph Lauren and Yigal Azroul, and returned to Honolulu a few years ago where she worked with the merchandising team for Jeans Warehouse and the wholesale team for Angels by the Sea.   Kristen told the students that her love of fashion comes from textiles and she enjoys helping to develop not only the look and prints of textiles, but the textures and weaves.  Emily advised students to take as many electives in fashion as possible so that they have well-rounded skill set. 

By Andy Reilly​

Mini totes bags are one of the trendy items lately. FDM student club, Stole Society, led by Masisa Kim (SS president) and five dedicated FDM student officers, had the 1st-semester event – making own mini totes—on September 30th, 2024. Over 22 participants from various majors had a rich learning experience at the Miller Design Lab. They learned how to use a machine and add lace trims and other embellishments, creating cute and fancy mini totes. This hands-on experience has surely enriched their skills and will motivate them for future events. We extend our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who generously donated fabrics and trims to FDM. We truly appreciate your support. Please check out @stolesociety for upcoming events and Stole workshops. 

By Minako McCarthy​

The Welina Mānoa: Kick-Off event took place on September 4 at the Campus Center, Kuykendall Lawn, and Legacy Path. The event featured a variety of on-campus departments, programs, clubs, and offices at the Resource Fair, with music from KTUH and live performances by the UH Band and UH Rainbow Dancers. At our FDM booth, visitors learned more about FDM’s offerings, including courses, student projects, and our student club, Stole Society. Special thanks to Drs. Minako McCarthy, Ju-Young Kang, Shu Hwa Lin, and our Stole Society officers—Elliana Abecede, Hailie Chinn, Marisa Kim, Johnell Ladera, Edelina Bagaporo, and Kasandra Miao—for organizing and setting up the booth. A big shout-out to Elliana, who crafted and handed out balloon animals to visitors, making our booth a highlight of the event! We sincerely appreciate all the help and support from our Stole Society officers! Watch the video.

By Ju-Young Kang

Andy Reilly, profession in FDM, gave a gallery talk at the Honolulu Museum of Art on June 8 as part of the Fashion Aloha exitigion gallery talks.  His talk, "Identity and Aloha Shirts" was the result of research he did on aesthetic preferences of aloha shirts by Hawaiian, Local, and haole men.  Dr. Reilly found that while Hawaiian and Local men select shirts that reflect the Hawaiian Islands accurately to identify themselves as not-tourists but as residents, haole men upon moving to Hawai`i go through a process of learning about shirts and change their aesthetic preferences to demonstrate they are the good haole.  During the talk, model Makana Gomes modeled different shirts as he talked about them.  Dr. Reilly will be giving this talk at an upcoming symposium in NYC in November.  

By Andy Reilly​