There has always been more behind the "Made in China" tag on the back of t-shirts, hoodies, pants, etc.
On Wednesday, March 29, 2017 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the first floor of the New Jersey Center for Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) Building, Kean University's Asian Studies Program will be collaborating with Confucius Institute of Rutgers University (CIRU) to host a conference and fashion show.
This event will take place in one day, compared to last year which took place over the span of two days, and will enlighten students on the topic of China's influence on the world of fashion.
Valerie Steele, fashion historian and director and curator of the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology, is the keynote speaker of the conference.
"[She] has organized more than 25 exhibitions since 1997, including The Corset, London Fashion, Gothic: Dark Glamour; Daphne Guinness, A Queer History of Fashion, Dance and Fashion and Proust’s Muse, the Countess Greffulhe. She is the author or editor of more than 25 books, including Paris Fashion, Women of Fashion, Fetish: Fashion, Sex and Power, The Corset, The Berg Companion to Fashion and Fashion Designers A-Z: The Collection of The Museum at FIT. As an author, curator, editor and public intellectual, Steele has been instrumental in creating the modern field of fashion studies and in raising awareness of the cultural significance of fashion," excerpted from Kean University's homepage.
Ruiping Guo, professor of fashion design at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, will be the designer of the fashion show.
"She is also director of the China Knitting Fashion Research and Development Center and serves on the China Wool Textile Industry Association Council, the expert committee of the Chinese Knitting Industry Association and the academic committee of China Fashion Association. In 2014, Ruping participated in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) clothing design week and won the outstanding contribution award. Her work has also been featured during Shanghai Fashion Week," excerpted from Kean University's homepage.
Along with Kean University’s resident costume design studio, the panelists will work together with students to organize and perform a fashion show.
Michele Mossay, managing director of the Academy for Performing Arts (APA), dance minor coordinator and professor at Kean University, will be producer of the event.
Two other professors, Dr. Sue Gronewold, associate professor of History, and Dr. Xurong Kong, assistant professor of History, will be organizing the event. The two have recently presented a lecture discussing Asia in Trump's world.
The day will end with a banquet that will provide attendees with an opportunity to examine the featured designs and talk with the scholars about Chinese fashion and its global impact.
Students can register for the event here or by copying https://kean.afford.com/PPT/MakeAPayment in the URL bar. Kean University faculty and students can enter with a fee of only $6.
Students and faculty can read more about the event and panel here.
