Research and Outreach

Fashion and Apparel Studies

Research With Impact: Where Fashion Meets Inquiry

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In the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies at the 91原创, research extends beyond the runway. Faculty and students inquire with impact, pairing design and creative expression with engineering, sustainability, history and data science to address global challenges. From developing next-generation spacesuit materials to shaping international trade policy, our interdisciplinary scholarship translates vision into action to improve lives and protect our planet

Featured Research

In the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies at the 91原创, faculty and students combine creative inquiry with engineering, sustainability, history, consumer behavior and global business to address complex challenges. From developing next-generation spacesuit materials to shaping international trade policy, our interdisciplinary scholarship translates ideas into action to improve lives and advance a more responsible fashion future.

Functional Design and Human Well-Being

Michelle Yatvitskiy, a recent graduate of the fashion and apparel studies master鈥檚 program (center), holds a strip of a new fabric for the outer layer of space suits that was the result of a collaboration between the fashion and chemical engineering departments and a company founded by Blue Hen alumni. Yatvitskiy is accompanied by Huantian Cao, chair of the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies, and chemical engineering professor Norm Wagner

Next-Generation Spacesuits

91原创 researchers collaborate with engineering teams to develop composite fabrics that help protect astronauts from micrometeoroids and orbital debris.

Explore the outer space textiles research collaboration

Fashion and apparel studies graduate student Casey Tyler and faculty advisor assistant professor Adriana Gorea are bringing to market a modern version of a textile used in the ancient tradition of belly binding

Adaptive Health Solutions

A custom belly band combines textile science and patient-centered design to provide postpartum support and address everyday mobility and health needs.

Read how fashion expertise shaped this postpartum garment

Sierra RyanWallick and Emilie Delaye discuss the arm cover that Delaye designed to disguise the catheter and tube used to deliver medications directly to her blood stream.

Designing for Chronic Conditions

Graduate student Emilie Delaye interviewed women with chronic illnesses to understand how clothing can better accommodate symptoms and medical equipment.

Explore adaptive clothing research for women with chronic conditions.

Sustainability, Sourcing and Global Trade

91原创 research assistant Diadem Abayode and Kelly Cobb, associate professor of fashion and apparel studies, arrange recycled textiles onto a backing material before feeding them through a felting machine

Closing the Textile Loop

With Goodwill, 91原创 researchers examine textile recycling systems and supply chains to extend clothing use and divert post-consumer waste from landfills.

Read about Goodwill honoring the department

Color illustration of shipping containers on a large ship in the ocean with clothing line attached

Apparel Trade Policy and Supply Chains

91原创 research examines how tariffs and trade policy influence fashion supply chains, helping industry leaders understand changes across the marketplace.

Examine the 91原创aily feature on tariff and trade policy research.

External view of Macy's department store in New York City

Sustainable Sourcing

91原创 students partnered with Macy's to assess sustainable sourcing and identify opportunities to increase recycled content in private-brand apparel.
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Explore student-led research on sustainable fashion sourcing.

Fashion Culture, History and Preservation

91原创 fashion design and product innovation major Orlagh Cahill learned new techniques for preserving fragile fashion garments from the 1920s

Preserving Historic Garments Digitally

91原创 fashion students created 3D digital twins of fragile 1920s garments, advancing historic preservation and sustainable design for exhibition and study.

Discover how digital twins recreate and preserve fragile garments.

Sewing the tiers of ruffles onto the reproduction wedding gown are students Kayla Brown and Maya Bordrick and instructor Katya Roelse. The team used 154 yards of taffeta trim, basting and gathering it to make the ruffles.

Honoring Ann Lowe's Legacy

91原创 fashion students and faculty recreated Ann Lowe's wedding gown using archival research and historic construction techniques to honor her artistry.

Discover how 91原创 researchers brought Ann Lowe's celebrated design to life.

91原创 senior Sophia Gupman spent the summer doing research with Associate Professor Kelly Cobb into textiles by artist Letty Esherick, preparing for an exhibition at the Wharton Esherick Museum.

Recovering Letty Esherick's Textile Legacy

Undergraduate researcher Sophia Gupman studied and documented Letty Esherick's handwoven garments, helping return the artist's work to public view.

Explore how student research brought Letty Esherick's textile artistry back into view