AATCC received nine entries, with 19 students participating from five colleges and universities.

This year’s theme, Fashion Evolution, showcased AATCC’s Centennial—the Association’s 100th Birthday! The theme for AATCC’s Centennial celebrations is “Celebrating a Century—Focused on the Future!”

Fashion Evolution mirrored that theme. From the 1920s, when AATCC was founded, to the present day, students were asked to choose a decade from the last 100 years and reinvent the fashions for the 2020 decade, focusing on one or more of the following:

• fit/sizing for various body types
• sustainable fashion
• personal protection
• new textile materials/technology

First Place

The Circular Edit by Evietta Chapman and Keaton Springer, University of Oregon

This group was awarded:

• US$1000 from AATCC

• J.Crew monogrammed tote

• Mentorship/apprenticeship with a J.Crew merchant team member

• US$300 from Farhan Patel

• One-year free AATCC Student Membership

Evietta Chapman is pursuing an Honors Bachelor of Science in Merchandising Management with a Minor in Business and Entrepreneurship.

She says, “This competition helped me gain a cohesive understanding of developing a line and provided me the opportunity to apply my undergraduate research findings regarding garment longevity to a real-life context. I am excited to pursue a career in merchandising and to use the knowledge from this competition about sustainability and innovation when I enter the workforce after I graduate this Spring.”

Keaton Springer is pursuing a BS in Apparel Design.

“I transferred skills that I learned in design and applied them to a merchandise concept,” she says. “I learned how production and operations are related and how to bring market trends up to design standards. In the future, I hope to work in the fashion industry abroad, bringing the values of sustainability and forward thinking to the world.”

Second Place

Embody by Julia Wazeter, Paige Divon, Karigen Emig, and Roula Khaldi, Thomas Jefferson University

This group was awarded US$750 from AATCC and one-year free AATCC student membership.

These students are all majoring in Fashion Merchandising and Management.

Julia Wazeter reveals, “This collaborative project has further solidified the importance of thinking outside of the box to address gaps in the fashion industry. The market for inclusive brands, especially for the Gen Z target market, is very limited. Through extensive research, we were able to identify specific features and fabrics that will enhance the wearing experience for our customer, while keeping the styles trendy and 60s inspired.” Wazeter will begin her career as an Assistant Buyer at the Ross buying office in New York City.