Sara Wilcox is a Ph.D. Apparel Studies student in the Dress, History, and Culture track with a minor in Heritage Studies and Public History. She has an MA in Apparel Studies from UMN and a BFA in Costume Design from the Theatre School at DePaul University, with over 20 years of professional experience as a costume designer. Sara has presented three papers at conferences and co-curated one exhibition at the Goldstein Museum of Design. Her research interests include textile crafts and sustainable fashion.

Keywords: Textile crafts, Handmade garments, Slow fashion, Upcycling, clothing value, Sustainability

Treating clothing as valuable rather than disposable will be a critical factor in reducing consumer textile waste. This research explored the practices of people who make clothing for themselves, as they may have a unique perspective on clothing value as both producers and consumers. The results demonstrated that clothing has three types of value operating in tandem: aesthetic, physical, and emotional.

Keywords: Clothing value, Home sewing, Knitting, Weaving, Sustainability

Published: MA Thesis completed June 2023, presented at Costume Society of America Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic Joint Regional Symposium October 2022

Stitching and Sustainability: Understanding how Home Garment Makers Value Clothing Through Their Making and Use Practices.

After the Shawl: Refashioned Garments from Kashmir and Paisley Shawl

Kashmir and Paisley shawls were large, expensive textiles that were fashionable from approximately 1800-1870. Once they went out of style, they were too valuable to discard. This material culture research explored their ongoing use in refashioned or upcycled garments from 1880 to the present day in ways that maintain the beauty of the original textile while reflecting contemporary design aesthetics.

Keywords: Kashmir shawl, Paisley shawl, refashioning, upcycling, material culture

Published: Costume Society of America Midwestern Regional Symposium, October 2023

This collaborative exhibition was curated by Dr. Jean McElvain, Laureen Berlin-Gibson, and Sara Wilcox. The exhibition explored garments and accessories used to protect and cool in the summer heat in the 20th and 21st centuries. Garments from the Goldstein Museum of Design collection were used to explore commonly accepted associations between travel and sunlight, the varied and cultural acceptability of showing skin, and a brief history of fiber and design technologies that have guided changing perceptions of how we dress for the sun.

Keywords: Summer fashion, Historic fashion, Bathing suits, Fiber technology, Modesty, Cultural norms

Published: July-October 2023 at the Goldstein Museum of Design

Solar Flair: Dressing for the Sun

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Emily Seifert is a Ph.D. Human Factors & Ergonomics student with a bachelor in science and Masters in Apparel Design from the UMN.

She has around eight years of experience working as a researcher in various industries, and currently working in Human Dimension lab at UMN. Emily's research supports workspace, wearable product, and medical product design innovation through mixed methods research approaches to provide safer, more equitable environments and products.

Keywords: 3Dscanner, Hand, Feet, Anthropometricsurvey Landmark

Minji Yu is a Ph.D. Apparel Studies student with a bachelor's and master’s in Clothing and Textile from the Ewha Womans University.

She worked as a research scientist intern at Meta Reality Labs, where she researched the fit and wearability of VR wearable products. Minji’s research focuses on advanced wearable product development with the integration of technologies such as 3D body scanning, virtual simulation, and 3D CAD.

Keywords: VR/AR wearables, medical and protective wearable product development, smart clothing, anthropometry, 3D body scanning, 3D apparel visualization, fit, wearability

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