Design and Merchandising Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice

Seniors studying product development in the apparel and merchandising major research a specific population or target market in need of adaptable clothing including those with prosthetic limbs, arthritis, relying on a wheelchair for mobility, diabetes in need of injection access, visual impairments, and others. Through research, students create adaptive design solutions to make clothing more accessible.

Kristen Morris, Assistant Professor in Apparel and Merchandising

“Students enrolled in INTD 476 IAD Capstone integrate sociocultural issues and needs into their capstone projects, including affordable housing, assistive living, child protective care, support for at-risk populations, and accessibility in local, regional, national, and international contexts. Students apply ADA standards, including digital accessibility, in their design processes.”

Jain Kwon, Assistant Professor in Interior Architecture and Design

“In Social Psychology of Clothing, students conduct research projects using qualitative methods to explore why people dress the way they do, how they construct their personal appearances, and what they wish to communicate through appearances. Student topics are inclusive of the lived realities of diverse individuals and have explored issues such as the ways that members of the queer community communicate gender and sexual identity through dress, the meanings of waist beads among US-based (African) makers and wearers, body image among college-aged men, and the beauty- and aging-related attitudes and behaviors of middle-aging women.”

Jennifer Ogle, Professor in Apparel and Merchandising