AATCC received 50 entries, with 95 students participating from 14 colleges and universities. Students were challenged to showcase their skills in business, marketing, and merchandising by conducting a business model, determining a marketing strategy, and developing merchandising tools and products for an integrated new apparel line focused on and inspired by a specific outdoor or indoor athletic activity (cycling, running, group fitness, hiking, etc.). The new line had to transition from activity to everyday wear and incorporate a use case and supply chain of a realistic technology (e-textiles, chemical technologies, materials technologies, etc).

Among the winners are Impervious Apparel by Hannah Norum and Mylisa Krueger, Oregon State University; Equilibre: A Work to Workout Clothing Line by Megan Singleton and Mallory Hayes, North Carolina State University; and Quick Fix by Mary Lee, Lyndee Johnston, Oksana Topchiy, and Renea Wright, University of Wyoming.

The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC), based in the US, is the world’s leading not-for-profit association serving textile professionals since 1921. It provides test method development, quality control materials, and professional networking for members in about 50 countries throughout the world. It provides scholarships focused on textile design, merchandising, sciences, and engineering.