Symposium Dates: April 12-13, 2024

Symposium Host: Department of Graphic Design, Apparel Design, Retail Merchandising, and Product Design, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN US

Location: Rapson Hall, 89 Church St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 

Link to Schedule 

Important dates

Abstract submission (closed): October 15, 2023 – January 10, 2024

Notice of acceptance: The week of January 22, 2024

Online registration closes: March 29, 2024

Full Paper submission (optional): Extended to May 15, 2024

We encourage submissions of concept, teaching, or research papers (6000-8000 words, including references and abstract; concept papers have a 4000-word limit) and creative designs (1000-1500 words plus images) for the special issue.

Please submit through the official submission portal of Fashion Practice with a special line at the top of their title page: Submission to the Fashion and Play special issue.

*If you need to request a refund due to problems with traveling, please do so by March 29, 2024, by emailing Ashley Anderson and10557@umn.edu 

See https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/fashionandsymposium/home for updates.

If fashion is a modern essential, play is a basic human need. The National Institute for Play considers play extremely important for a healthy life. Each person feels playful in their own unique way. How we play may change as we mature from children to adults, and current fashion in popular play changes over time. While we might enjoy music over our lifetime, the way we interact with instruments and vocals might range from sing-alongs to electric instruments to digital synthesizers. While dolls have been a quintessential toy of childhood, today’s dolls present multiple ethnicities, body shapes, and genders that are very different from traditional collectible dolls. Similarly, the way we play with fashion reflects and constructs evolving societal tastes and values. Both the play of fashion and the fashion of play are fascinating topics to explore.

The neurons in our brain light up when we encounter something playful. It alters our state of mind when we  are enjoying an activity that allows us to forget about time. An individual involved in play can take many roles including collector, competitor, creator, director, explorer, joker, kinesthete, and storyteller.

Submissions may be related to broad definitions of fashion/design and play. Topics may include (but are not limited) to the following:

Dress and role playing

Play Therapy

Sports apparel

Drag

Design for play

Toy Design

Costume Design

Children’s clothing

Adult Play

Interior Design for play (children and adults)

Creativity connections

Designing games and gaming

Theoretical and conceptual approaches/frameworks

Technologies driving play

Play systems

Education and play

Ceremony and play

Experiential play

Submission Categories

Scholars and practitioners are invited to submit abstracts that are original, completed at the time of submission, not submitted to another journal and/or presented at other conference in the following categories:

• Research – includes submissions related to research studies and scholarship grounded in theories/approaches/philosophies related to Play.

• Teaching – includes submissions that advance scholarship of teaching, curriculum and pedagogy related to Play in fashion and related fields.

• Concept – includes submissions related to broad view of the field that may be position papers, emerging philosophies/schools of thought, practitioner and action-oriented strategies advancing Play in fashion, systematic literature reviews, bibliometric analyses and interconnectedness of policy, research, and practice. Submissions in this category must be supported by thorough synthesis and analyses of diverse and reliable sources of information to inform future scholarship and actions.

• Creative Design – Submissions in this category include original design work focused on play. 

Fashion and…Abstract Template

• APA Style

• Please use Times New Roman 12pt

• Single space

• 1" margins

• Length: 1 page including references, 1 additional page for images if needed

• Submit two files as a PDF. One review file without name or affiliation and one final file with name and affiliation

Example: Review_Title.PDF, Final_Title.PDF

• Center title, Name, Affiliation, Country, and Key Words (up to 4)

Title of Presentation

Name, University or Affiliation, Country

Keywords: one, two, three, four

Abstract Submission Form (closed)

If accepted, the study/design must be presented/displayed by at least one of the original abstract authors in an oral/poster/display format. The presenting author must register for the symposium by March 29, 2024, to allow the organizing committee time to prepare and disseminate the Symposium Program.

2024 Symposium co-Chairs: Drs. Elizabeth (Missy) Bye, Barry Kudrowitz, and Juanjuan Wu,  College of Design, University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN, USA

Contact information: Email: ebye@umn.edu , jjwu@umn.edu or barryk@umn.edu

Main Office Ph: +1 612-624-9700

Accommodations: A block of rooms has been reserved and will be held for guests until March 29, 2024 at the Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis University Area. Be sure to mention the Fashion And Play Symposium at the time of your reservation. 

Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis University Area

511 Huron Blvd. SE Minneapolis, Minnesota 55414 USA 

Directions       Visit website      +1 612-504-3000