RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — June 20, 2023 — It is time to announce the winners of the 2023 AATCC Concept 2 Consumers Student Merchandise Competition!

The theme of the 2023 competition was Sustainability – Proof is in the Product.
Students chose to focus their design on one sustainability feature: preferred fibers, manufacturing or end of life/reusability. They then proved their designs were sustainable using 2-3 AATCC Test Methods (such as, but not limited to, coloration, laundering, odor, fiber fragments, etc.).

First Place

First place was awarded to LaMyrtille by Allison Antush, Emma Grill, Aden Hurdstrom, and Jessica Rance from Oregon State University. They were awarded a total of $1,000 from AATCC, $300 from Farhan Patel, and one year of free AATCC Student Membership for each student.

Antush is a Merchandising Management student with a Sport Business concentration. She said: “I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to find materials for our line that both fit our criteria of being 100-percent compostable at the end of its life, while also finding materials that meet the performance needs of our target consumer. I also got a lot of fantastic experience working in a team and taking all our ideas and putting them together in a cohesive way to create this line.”

Grill is a Merchandising Management Student with a Marketing Minor. “Through this competition, I was illuminated to the notion that with the right tools we can have an innovative industry that accomplishes both sustainability and style,” Grill said. “In the future, I seek to go into fashion marketing to help build brands from the ground up and inspire the unique image that will last for years to come.”

Hurdstrom is also a Merchandising Management student. She noted: “I learned teamwork, collaboration skills, and how important a good team is from this competition. My plans are to have a career in the fashion industry, hopefully working with and buying vintage clothing!”

Rance is pursuing a B.S. in Apparel Design and Merchandising Management. “This competition allowed me to put into practice what I’ve been learning in my classes and taught me how to develop, evaluate, and market a clothing line that prioritizes sustainable objectives like end-of-use and reusability by researching eco-friendly materials and using AATCC Test Methods,” Rance said. “This summer, I’ll be a Technical Design Intern at Eddie Bauer and hope to pursue a career in Technical Design after graduation.”

Second Place

Second place was awarded to Mottainai by Geoffrey Engel, Michelle Lira Licona, and Kaitlyn Urasaki from Oregon State University. They were awarded a total of $750 from AATCC, $200 from Farhan Patel, and one year of free AATCC student membership for each student.

Engel is a Merchandising Management and Sociology student. From this competition, “I learned how to navigate the iterative process of creating a product line and marketing plan. In the future I hope to work as a merchandising lead at an independent fashion label,” Engel said.

Lira Licona is a Merchandising Management and Apparel Design major. She said: “As I prepared for the competition with my team members, I gained a deeper understanding of the way merchants and designers work together, and I also learned how the merchandising/marketing of a product line translates to a timeline. My future plans include finishing my degree and exploring the buying side of merchandising before moving on to a more creative field such as product development or apparel design.”

Urasaki is studying Apparel Design and Merchandise Management.  She noted: “I learned about different sustainable practices that can be implemented into the process of designing, manufacturing, and keeping clothing. My plan is to continue with university and hopefully get a job in the apparel industry as a surface print designer.

Third Place

Third place was awarded to Young Professionals by Emily Tincher from St. Catharine University. She was awarded $250 from AATCC, $100 from Farhan Patel, and one year of free AATCC student membership.

Tincher is a Fashion Merchandising major. “I learned a lot from this competition about the process of developing a line, and how important it is to implement sustainable features to the product design to have a successful line that is truthfully sustainable,” Tincher said. “I want to work in project management in the future. This work will help me understand what overseeing a development process would look like and how to implement sustainability across that process.”

AATCC would like to extend thanks and appreciation to the developers, judges, and sponsors. Without their expertise and assistance, the competition would not have been possible.

Developers

• Sandra Johnson, senior account manager at Color Solutions International;
• Kerry King, vice president, R&D at Spoonflower Inc.;
• Muditha Senanayake, professor at Cal Poly Pomona; and
• Alyssa McNamara, R&D engineer II at Spoonflower Inc.

Judges

• Alan Biggerstaff, Senior Quality Manager at Walmart;
• Farhan Patel, Marketing & Business Development Consultant;
• Jennifer Rivas, Senior Technical Design Manager at Walmart;
• Scott Wagner, Fabric Manager, PD&S at Levi Strauss & Co.; and
• Jennifer Yerkes, Technical Designer at Walmart.

Sponsors

• Farhan Patel

Posted June 20, 2023

Source: AATCC