Nine lucky students traveled with Dr. Andy Reilly to one of the largest fashion conventions in the world in Las Vegas, February 14 and 15.  Each year, “Magic” attracts vendors and manufacturers from around the world to showcase their collections to industry buyers.  This event is not open to the public, but as faculty, Dr. Reilly was able to take students to experience this aspect of the fashion industry. 

Students attended Magic’s industry seminars at the Las Vegas Convention Center, students attended industry seminars.  One seminar provided an overview of branding; did you know that brands have eight seconds to get a message across to a potential customer on social media?  Another seminar included representatives from the manufacturing industries in Africa, Egypt, and Sri Lanka, who talked about their workforce skills and regional resources.  According to Stephanie Sirju, the trip “made me appreciate my fashion degree beyond what I had in the past and left me with lifelong knowledge, advice, and connections with amazing people.  Not only that, this event put you in a very realistic environment and I’ve learned to navigate myself in fashion environments a lot better.” .......For more information, click the following "Read more" button.

The Stole Society, an FDM student club, as a RIO (Registered Independent Organization), recently worked on an upcycled project. Motivated student members and an instructor created various upcycled, one-of-a-kind garments and sold the items at the campus center on Dec 4, 2023. We will continue working on the project next semester. The next Rainbow Bazaar will be sometime in early 2024. Please let us know if you have any gently used garments and want to join us. SS President: Quinn Curammeng--quinnkln@hawaii.edu -written by Minako McCarthy

Dr. Ju-Young Kang (FDM)’s research article, titled “Artificial intelligence-powered digital solutions in the fashion industry: A mixed-methods study on AI-based customer services,” has been published in the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education [LINK]. Using a sequential mixed-methods approach, this research examined customer experiences with and the uses and gratifications of AI chatbots as AI-based customer services and the influence of customers’ perceptions of service quality in AI-based customer services on favorable customer experiences, brand loyalty, and purchase loyalty.  For more information, read the full article [LINK] -written by Ju-Young Kang