Kelly Cobb

Biography

Kelly Cobb is an associate professor at the University of Delaware whose research and creative practice explore sustainable textile systems, waste-led design, and interdisciplinary innovation. A co-inventor on a 2025 U.S. patent for textile recycling systems, she collaborates with engineers, environmental scientists and artists to co-create solutions at the intersection of sustainability and design. A recent example of her work includes the NSF-funded ReSpool (RETAME) project (2022–2025), where she co-investigated circular textile supply chains and scalable mechanical recycling methods. Her work spans experimental design methodologies, applied material culture, and collaborative, community-engaged scholarship. Her creative scholarship has been recognized through juried exhibitions, patents and publications in Fashion Practice, Sustainability, and the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education. Cobb’s work embodies a radical commitment to reimagining fashion systems through craft, collaboration and care.

Cobb mentors both undergraduate and graduate students through research projects such as A Joyous Thing, a creative study of Letty Esherick’s textiles, and Black Canvas, a virtual fashion prototyping collaboration. She continues to lead convergence-driven initiatives that integrate curriculum innovation, research impact and public scholarship.

Degrees

MFA, The University of Florida

BFA, The Maryland Institute, College of Art

Research Interests

• Circular Textile Systems
• Material Innovation
• Waste-Led Design
• Applied Material Culture
• Object-Based Research
• Discovery Learning
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration
• Convergence Research

Selected Awards and Honors (2019–2025)

Artist-in-Residence, Wharton Esherick Museum (2025)
Competitively awarded, invitation-only residency supporting site-based textile design research and public engagement.

Paper of Distinction, IDETC/CIE Conference, ASME (2025)
Awarded for “Textile Circular Economy: Addressing Material Waste,” recognizing excellence in convergence-driven research. Co-author; PI of grant.

Paper of Distinction – Historic Track, ITAA Annual Conference (2023)
Recognized for interdisciplinary digital material culture scholarship on fashion inheritance. Co-author.

ATEXINC Award for Excellence in Marketable Textile Design, ITAA Design Exhibition (2022)
For innovation in reversible NICU kangaroo care garment design. Co-author.

Most Cited Article of the Year, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal (2020)
For 2019 article on mushroom mycelium composites—identified by SAGE as a top-cited work in 2021. Co-author.

Nominee, Mid-Career Scholar Award, International Textile and Apparel Association (2023)
For interdisciplinary, community-engaged scholarship.

Showcase Recognition, University of Delaware OEIP (2024)
Honored for contributions to innovation and entrepreneurship.

Faculty Fellowship, Thing Tank, Center for Material Culture Studies
Material Futures (2022–23) and Eco Materialities (2021–22), focused on interdisciplinary material culture research.

Patent

Systems and Methods for Recycling End-of-Use Textiles into Second-Generation Textiles
Huantian Cao, Kelly Cobb, Hongqing Shen (2025, Jan 9), U.S. Patent No. 18765772
Describes a process for producing new textiles from post-consumer apparel feedstock.

Selected Publications

Reclaiming Play: The Development of a Tactile Manifesto, Fashion Practice (2025, IF: 1.3)

Fundamental Challenges and Opportunities for Textile Circularity, Sustainability (2024, IF: 3.3)

Biodegradable Weed Control Mats from End-of-Use Cotton Waste, Sustainability (2024, IF: 3.3)

AI Digitalization and Workforce Skills in Apparel, Int’l J. of Fashion Design, Technology & Education (2023, IF: 1.62)

Seeded Textiles and Eco-Effective Design, Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice (2022, IF: N/A)

SnuggleTime Garment for Kangaroo Care, J. of Textile & Apparel, Technology & Management (2020, IF: 0.143)

Mycelium Composites for Footwear Products, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal (2019, IF: 1.9)

Artifact-Based Dress History in the Academic Collection, Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice (2019, IF: N/A)

Recent Creative Scholarship

"Path of the Jaguar: Channeling Bonnie Cashin, A Sustainable Scenario"
Costume Society of America (2025, Los Angeles) | Accepted | Co-creators: B. Orzada, D. Lopez-Gydosh

"Dis-Illusion"
ITAA Design Exhibition (2025, submitted) | Co-creators: J. Ridgeway, J. Parsons

"La Vie en Roses: Together and Apart, an (Un)braided Model Approach"
ITAA Annual Conference (2024) | Acceptance Rate: 50.7% | View proceedings
Co-creators: J. Ridgeway, J. Parsons

"Two Sides to Every Story: A Reversible NICU Garment"
ITAA Design Exhibition (2022, Denver) | Acceptance Rate: 39.3% ATEXINC Award for Excellence in Marketable Textile Design. Design catalog Co-creator: J. Ridgeway, J. Parsons

"Neo-Heritage Ensemble #2: Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder" ITAA Design Exhibition (2019, Las Vegas) | Acceptance Rate: 51% Design catalog Co-creators: B. Orzada, D. Lopez-Gydosh

"W=FT #001: Tufted"
ITAA Design Exhibition (2019, Las Vegas) | Acceptance Rate: 51% Experimental textile research with post-market materials Design catalog Co-creator: Tim Eads

Student Creative Scholarship Mentoring (Juried Exhibitions)

"Reviving Fashion: Weaving Life Back into Discarded Textile Waste"
ITAA Annual Conference, 2024 | Acceptance Rate: 47% View Entry
Design by M. Yatvitskiy, D. Abayode

"Rubigo"
ITAA Annual Conference, 2022 | Acceptance Rate: 37%
Design by S. Woodruff. Design Catalog

"Pandemonium"
ITAA Annual Conference, 2022 | Acceptance Rate: 37%
Design by M. Yatvitskiy | ATEXINC Award for Marketable Textile Design. Design Catalog

"Visual and Tactile Garment Therapy for Children with Autism"
ITAA Annual Conference, 2019 | Acceptance Rate: 39%
Design by H. Zhang | French European Inc. Innovative Design Award Design Catalog

Selected Refereed Conference Presentations (2019–2025)

International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA)
Over 20 presentations (2019–2025) on circular design systems (ReSpool), immersive material culture, waste-to-value innovation, and interdisciplinary pedagogy. Multiple entries awarded distinction and published.

IDETC/CIE Conference (2025) – Anaheim, CA
Awarded Paper of Distinction on textile circular economy. Co-author; PI of grant.

Ecology of Fashion Symposium (2025) – Drexel University
Panels on textile recycling, discovery learning, and regional circularity models. Co-author; PI of grant.

Fashion and Play Symposium (2024) – University of Minnesota
Presented tactile design manifesto and circular systems thinking in education.

Remade Circular Economy Tech Summit (2024) – Washington, D.C.
Presented ReSpool supply chain innovations. Co-author; PI of grant.

Frameless Labs Symposium (2022) – Rochester Institute of Technology
Presented on XR simulation labs in fashion education. Co-author; PI of grant.