RMIT connects with world fashion
Recently people from all over the world attended ‘The Body: Connections with Fashion’ – the 10th Annual
Conference for the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI). IFFTI 2008 was
hosted jointly at RMIT University by the School of Fashion and Textiles and the School of Architecture
and Design and sponsored by Pacific Brands (Australia).
The Conference included representatives from 30 of the world’s leading fashion institutes, and offered
over 50 presentations from international researchers, academics and practitioners on a range of subjects
including social, psychological and historical aspects of fashion. These included presentations by Elaine
Polvinen from SUNY Buffalo State College, New York, USA, on ‘What Comes First – the Virtual or the
Real?’, which looked at the emergence of the body-tech avatar as a fashion marketing and product
development tool; Frances Ross from London College of Fashion, University of the Arts, UK, on
‘Modesty body dressing: A case-study of young Jewish Orthodox women’s religious compliance and
individual fashion style’; and Winnie Ha from the School of Architecture and Design, RMIT University, on
‘Dress, Movement, and Sensation: An Impression of Nineteenth Century Peasant Dress in Thomas
Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles’.
Tina Gugielmino, Program Manager (Fashion), School of Fashion and Textiles, said: “IFFTI 2008
provided an exciting opportunity for the global fashion network to view and discuss each other’s research
and what we are achieving in relation to the body and fashion”.
Three keynote speakers at the Conference impressed with their industry knowledge and innovative
ideas. IT entrepreneur, former Director General of the Institute of Directors and Chair of the British
Design Council, Sir George Cox, talked about how businesses can face up to the challenge of a world
that is becoming vastly more competitive, claiming that creative capabilities lie at the very core of a
business’s ability to compete; Sue Morphett, CEO, Pacific Brands (Australia) spoke about how to
innovate in product development; and Cameron Lamperd, Product Manager, Wetsuits Rip Curl
(Australia) revealed Rip Curl’s heated wetsuit, with temperature control, that offers improvements to
wetsuit performance and takes the Rip Curl brand further..
AT IFFTI 2008, a sustainability panel was established so that at next year’s IFFTI in London, UK,
participants can report back on what they are doing within their educational establishment to work more
sustainably. At the School of Fashion and Textiles at RMIT possible sustainable options include using
non-bleached calico, reducing paper wastage, using less electricity, incorporating sustainable design into
design projects, and working with industry partners, such as Pacific Brands, on more environmentally
friendly production processes and education.
The Conference also included a Business Seminar that 350 RMIT fashion students attended, a cocktail
party, an executive dinner and a Surf Coast Tour.
“It was a great four days in Melbourne and IFFTI 2008 has definitely put RMIT University on the global
fashion map,” said Tina Guglielmino.
Written by Deborah Sippitts
RMIT University
Document: 106755554
Author: Deborah Sippitts
Save Date: 08/03/2016
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