USA: Non Wovens & Fashion Come to Fore at INTC in September

Fashion show to highlight INTC in St. Louis this September
North Carolina State’s students will present fashion and apparel made from nonwoven fabrics

The worlds of nonwovens and fashion will come together in a truly unique fashion show to be presented during the International Nonwovens Technical Conference (INTC) in September.

In this event, 10 students working towards a Textile and Apparel Management degree at North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles -- six undergraduates, three graduate students and one Ph.D. student, along with advisor Dr. Cindy Istook and Project Manager Stacey Frederick -- will demonstrate the fashion aspects of these primarily “technically inspired” fabrics.

Organized and co-sponsored by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, and TAPPI, Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, the annual INTC is the pre-eminent global technical meeting for the nonwovens and engineered fabrics industry. INTC 2005 will be held at the Millennium Hotel, St. Louis, Mo., September 19-22. Ian M. Julian, Director of Synthetic Fibers, Chemical Market Associates, Inc. will provide the keynote speech on energy costs.

Certain to be one of the highlights of the four-day Conference, the Fashion Show is the result of a collaborative research project between North Carolina State’s College of Textiles and the Freudenberg Nonwovens Group begun during the Fall of 2004. Students designed the garments, made patterns, fitted prototypes and constructed the ensembles.

The Fashion Show will display garments designed and modeled by North Carolina State students using Freudenberg, DuPont, and PGI nonwoven fabrics. Students and garments will be available for discussion and review during the table-top session Wednesday night.

 

“The show is considered technical because we will be discussing the issues of using nonwoven fabrics with woven patterns as well as other differences and challenges when designing with nonwovens,” explains Kate Dutton, one of the three graduate students participating in the project. “We hope to show the industry that one day nonwovens could have a place in the fashion apparel market.”

 

INDA President Rory Holmes welcomes the unique and ambitious undertaking to the Conference. “INTC is all about developing new technologies to produce more advanced finished products. Attendees will have a chance to see nonwoven fabrics in actual fashion designs and this event will add some excitement and flair to the conference.”

 

“I commend and applaud the North Carolina State students and their advisors who have worked on this project and who will bring a little bit of fashion to the world of nonwovens and technical textiles at INTC this year,” Holmes adds.