Summer/Fall 2024 Newsletter
From the Interim Department Head
Dear Fashion Studies Alumni and Friends,
Greetings from the Fashion Studies program at Kansas State University. I hope this message finds you well. It is an honor to reach out to you through our inaugural fashion studies newsletter, and I am excited to share some of the many exciting developments happening in our program.
This past year has been one of transition and growth for our program. After 10 years of leadership, at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year, Barbara Anderson stepped down as department head to focus on teaching within Interior Design. As department head, Barbara made valuable contributions to Fashion Studies’ growth and success, and we are grateful for her leadership. For the 2023-2024 academic year, Martin Seay, the department head of Personal Financial Planning, graciously served as our interim department head. Martin’s leadership and experience were instrumental during this transitional period, and we are thankful for his support. Starting this past summer, I agreed to take on department leadership and am currently serving as interim department head.
Advisory Board
We are excited to share recent developments from our Fashion Studies Professional Advisory Board, a cornerstone of our program's connection to industry and alumni. This dedicated group continues to play a vital role in strengthening our teaching, scholarship, and outreach activities while helping us expand our base of support within the apparel business and design professions.
The Fashion Studies Advisory Board serves three critical functions in supporting our program's success. First, members provide invaluable advice from their perspective as industry professionals, helping us identify areas of competitive advantage and address contemporary challenges in fashion education. Second, they create essential connections between our academic community and various business, professional, and community-based organizations. Finally, board members demonstrate leadership through their advocacy, engagement, service, and fundraising efforts, all of which directly benefit our students and program.
Return to the Prairie: Fiber Art for Green Burial
Most people don’t consider how their body and textile choices at end of life might contribute to environmental sustainability. Sherry Haar, professor and distinguished graduate faculty recipient, is addressing this gap by highlighting green burial through fiber art.
A natural or green burial is an eco-friendly way to caring for the body before and during burial. It has minimal environmental impact, aiding in the conservation of natural resources, reducing carbon emissions, protecting worker health, and restoring or preserving habitats. In a natural earth burial, the body and biodegradable coverings decompose, enriching the soil.
Haar’s recent exhibition, Return to Prairie: Textiles for Green Burial Awareness, at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, introduced viewers to natural burial through thoughtfully crafted fiber art...
K-State Historic Costume and Textile Museum
The K-State Historic Costume and Textile Museum (HCTM) on the third floor of Justin Hall experienced a wonderful and busy 2024! Curator Marla Day spent much of 2024 on the road, giving programs funded through Humanities Kansas. Marla’s travels took her across Kansas from Colby, KS to Pittsburg, KS among other locations where patrons eagerly listened to programs about Kansan Nell Quinlan Donnelly Reed whose garment company, Nelly Don, was one of the largest dressmakers in the country from 1916 to 1978.
Marla also presented on the HCTM traveling exhibit, Thrift Style, which is focused on the creation of clothing made from animal and flour feed sacks during the Great Depression, and its relationship to the growing eco-fashion trend. Exhibits USA who manages the national touring exhibition, just extended the initial five year run to seven due to popularity. Every program that Marla presented was well attended, in fact, Marla already has several speaking engagements for 2025!
K-State alumni, Liz Clay Bradley, MS KSU ’77 in family economics, created an acquisition fund with the KSU Foundation for the museum to acquire Nelly Don fashions. Liz and friends, Carol, Joan, and Jackie visited the museum in May to study the entire Nelly Don collection. The friends are all accomplished seamstresses and were wearing Handy Dandy aprons Liz had made for them. Currently the Nelly Don collection has 122 garments with 36 matching belts, collars and scarves, 3 sewing patterns designed by Nell for Advance Patterns, 8 Handy Dandy aprons, 
2 pieces of rare Nelly Don jewelry, an archive with over 70 pieces of company advertisements, a Vogue archive of Nelly Don advertisements, and one of four known Donnelly Garment Company fashion dolls from 1953. Day was interviewed recently by an undergrad student at the University of Alabama who is conducting research regarding Nell’s business model and her marketing acumen.
In November, Day, Goss, and Palsa traveled to Fort Scott, Kansas to participate in the annual conference for the Kansas Museum Association (KMA). The annual conference is held in different locations throughout Kansas and brings together museum professionals. Goss and Palsa were both awarded scholarships through the KMA Scholarship Committee which covered their conference registration. The Wednesday before the conference Marla Day and Jenny Linden-Tracz, the Assistant Director of the Prairie Museum of Art and History, hosted two workshops. One on
custom archival boxes and the other focused on custom sized archival mannequins. In both participants had a hands-on experience making their own boxes and then built a mannequin using Foss Shape and the step-by-step guide prepared by Day. A quote from one of the participants in the follow-up QR code survey, “Workshops were the best. The ladies were superior.”
The museum expanded their holdings through several generous donations in 2024. In February, HCTM graduate intern Hannah Palsa cataloged a Gunne Sax dress. Worn by Sally, Hannah’s mother, for her senior prom spring of 1979 at North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. In October, museum donors Karen and Kelly Gregg returned to Kansas and gave more treasures to the collection. The K-State alums donated illustrations by famed costume designer, William Travilla, along with four different illustrations by Joe De Young, a historical consultant for western movies, including the 1943 western movie, “The Kansan.” In total, the museum received 54 artifacts from 13 donors in 2024. 
The HCTM hosted over 11 tours this year and two tours brought classes from the anthropology department enrolled in a museum studies course, and another class of French language students studied the museum’s French fashions and reference collection. The fashion history class did research for the upcoming exhibition of Little Black Dresses. In October, Day welcomed First Lady Sally Linton for a tour of the museum. In a lovely written note, Linton thanked Day for the tour and added that “you have created a beautiful history told through design.”
The Kansas! magazine article, “Textile as Art: A small museum on the campus of Kansas State University houses a rare and unusual collection of historic clothing and textiles” was published in December. Written by Christine Steinkuehler, she interviewed Day who takes readers through the history of the HCTM and how the collection is used, where it is exhibited, how people can view the holdings, and how to experience the clothing worn by people of another time or culture.
In closing, the interns and museum volunteer Mikey Schneider, a history major with minor in the classics, have completed inventories for 7 cabinets containing 588 pieces this year. Each piece individually fitted to a mannequin form, new images taken, each getting a new cloth covered archival hanger, and updated description and then uploaded to the museum’s database and online catalog. It’s a time-consuming effort to complete these updates but each student finds the breadth of their work with the museum collection a valuable experience for their professional careers.
Fashion Students Continue Earning Top Honors in National Design Competitions
Fashion Studies students continue to make their mark, earning top honors in prestigious national design competitions, including the 20th annual Alpaca Owners Association's Student Design Competition, and the Nextile: Soy in Textiles Design Challenge.
Two students claimed top prizes at the 20th annual Alpaca Owners Association’s Student Design Competition. Sophomore Jose Alvidrez from Mead, Kansas, took home first place, while junior Teya Carlini from North Platte, Nebraska, earned second place in the fashion design category.
Meet the New Faces...
Over the past year, the Fashion Studies program has had the pleasure of welcoming several new faculty and staff members. We are proud to introduce these talented individuals who play an integral role in keeping our program and classes running smoothly. Their expertise and dedication continue to enrich our community and contribute to the success of our students.
Nadeeshani Ratnayaka, M.S., is serving as an instructor in the Fashion Studies program and is a proud alumna of Kansas State University, where she earned her M.S. in Fashion Studies. Originally from Sri Lanka, she has been residing in Manhattan, KS, for the past five years with her husband.
Isaiah Villarreal, M.S., is the Academic Advisor for the Fashion Studies Program at Kansas State University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management from Missouri State University and a Master of Science in Educational Administration with an emphasis in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education from Texas A&M University.
Euri Luce-Mead, a Ph.D. student in Sustainable Fashion Business, holds both a B.S. and M.S. in Merchandising, Apparel, and Textiles, Retailing and Tourism Management from the University of Kentucky. Attracted to K-State for its unique program that blends sustainability with fashion at the doctoral level, Euri is on a mission to combat the textile waste crisis.
Nicole Clancy, a Ph.D. student, is dedicated to revolutionizing fashion education at the secondary level. Her focus is on integrating sustainability into the curriculum, preparing students to become responsible consumers. Nicole’s academic journey includes an M.S. in Apparel Design and Production from Oklahoma State University and a B.S. in Sociology from Brigham Young University-Idaho.
Reannan Boisvert, a Ph.D. student, specializes in the thermal comfort of occupational and sportswear ensembles, exploring how garment design impacts wearer experience and health. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Textiles and Apparel Entrepreneurship from Florida State University, where she managed the Textile Testing and Thermal Manikin labs. This sparked her passion for functional fabrics and performance apparel systems.
Closing Thoughts
As we wait for the spring semester to start and students shuffling about on campus and in classrooms, we want to say how much we appreciate our donors, our partners and friends, and the alumni, because without you and your continued input and interactions we would not be the program we are. From K-State Fashion Studies to you and yours, Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
The Kansas State Fashion Students Faculty and Staff