UDAILY is produced by
the Office of Public Relations
150 South College Ave.
Newark, DE 19716-2701
(302) 831-2791

It was a runaway on the runway for University of Delaware faculty fashion designers in the Department of Consumer Studies who won several awards at the International Textile and Apparel Association’s annual conference last fall in Kansas City.

ITAA is an international organization for textile and apparel scholars, with support from industry. Nine designs were selected for exhibition by a juried process, and three designs received awards, including the top award, which is unusual recognition of achievement for one college or university.

Janet Hethorn, associate professor, received the 2001 Outstanding Faculty Designer Award; Belinda Orzada, associate professor, received the PatternWorks International Faculty Design Award; and Mary Jo Kallal, professor, received the Award for Outstanding Solution to a Patternmaking Problem. In addition Rosetta LaFleur, associate professor, had two designs accepted into the juried exhibition, and student Thao Anh Bui had her design accepted into the juried exhibition in the student category and was a finalist.

Hethorn’s award was for “Nomad Coat #2,” an elegant but simple, high tech vest coat, layered in a green/gray wool, gray microfiber and a smoky gold vinyl. With inside pockets and compartments, the ensemble is equipped for emergency use, stashed with such items as waterproof matches, flashlight, whistle, Swiss army knife, maps and small tools. A knapsack that can hold water, a first aid kit and other supplies completes the outfit.

Hethorn said she was inspired by the millennium when people were preparing for potential disaster as the calendar changed to 2000. She said she also was inspired by Eastern European folk wear that is beautifully embellished and yet functional for movement and travel.

Her “Nomad Coat #1’ also was selected for exhibition.

Hethorn said she was delighted to win the top award, which includes a week in Paris in September. “When awards were announced at the end of the show, I was thrilled as Jo and Belinda stepped up to receive their honors. But when the last award was announced and I heard my name, I was truly taken by surprise. It was a great night and for all three of us to receive these prestigious awards speaks highly of our program.”

Hethorn joined the UD faculty in 1998 and received her bachelor’s degree from Central Washington University and her doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She had an invited design presented in the Design Forum of the Université de la Mode in Lyon, France.

Orzada’s entry, “Is it Yofuku or Wafuku?” is a four-piece ensemble combining Eastern and Western influences—hence its name. Made from teal green silk satin, chiffon and multicolored lame, the garment consists of a full-length strapless dress in satin with a lame-trimmed bustier underneath and a lame obi at the waist. A hip-length, kimona-style jacket in chiffon and lame completes the ensemble. Orzada said her inspiration for the design, incorporating Japanese influences. came from her experience teaching a multicultural course, “Twentieth Century Design: Ethnic Influences.”

Two other designs by Orzada were finalists in the juried exhibition, as well.

Orzada has won three previous ITAA awards. A graduate of the University of Georgia, with a master’s degree from Louisiana State University and a doctorate from Florida State University, Orzada joined the UD faculty in 1994.

Kallal’s entry, entitled “Sashiko Bride,” was created for Saiko Imai, a friend who grew up in Japan and came to this country in her early 20s. She was planning to be married and wanted an unusual wedding dress, Kallal recalled.

Kallel was challenged to create a unique design that linked Imai’s heritage and suited her petite figure. She designed an asymmetrical wedding gown that features geometrically seamed bodice sections embellished with 10 different sashiko quilt patterns. Sashiko is a very old, traditional quilting of waves or ropes.

Although sashiko traditionally features white cotton quilting on blue fabric, Kallal used white metallic threads to quilt the patterns on each of the bodice and midriff sections. A floor length, translucent skirt overlay balances a flared, calf-length skirt. Angular fabric shapes form a three-tiered “train.”

She searched for the right fabric in the United States and in Paris before finding the white silk satin organza in Australia. The organza has the translucent, papery quality she was seeking that was reminiscent of Japanese papers.

A graduate of the University of Illinois with a master’s degree from Southern Illinois University, Kallal joined the UD faculty in 1978. She has won four previous ITTA awards. Her designs were chosen for a fashion show in New York in support of the UN International Year of Older Persons, and an invited design was presented at the Design Forum at the Université de la Mode in Lyon, France.

Also, Thao Anh Bui, who was graduated from UD with a degree in chemistry education in 1997 and who received another UD degree this spring in apparel design, was honored at the ITAA conference.

Her suit design, “Black on Blanc,” created and produced in her apparel design by flat pattern class, taught by Mary Jo Kallal, professor of consumer studies, combined natural-colored linen fabric with contrasting black vinyl trim and casings. The design was a finalist in the highly selective ITAA competition for students with more than 100 designs submitted from all over the country.

Bui, who is using her scientific background to tutor in science and math while attending the University, has been sewing since she was 10 years old. By 12, she began to design her own clothes, She decided that fashion was her field and returned to school to study apparel design.

Born in Vietnam, Bui came to this country when she was 2 years old. A graduate of Brandywine High School, she is the daughter of Liem and Hue Bui of Wilmington.