The journal Fashion and Textiles lies at the intersection of physical science, social science and business. It publishes research in such diverse topics as 3D printing in fashion, dye manufacture, and smart fabrics in tennis costume design, to name but a few. I caught up with Kyung Wha Oh, Editor-in-Chief, and Byoungho Jin, Associate Editor, to find out a bit more about Fashion and Textiles.
Tell us a little about the idea behind Fashion and Textiles.
Kyung Wha Oh: Because fashion and textiles is a field that draws insights from diverse fields, such as science, social science, and arts, there has been a growing necessity for an international journal in which researchers from various fields can participate and exchange ideas. In line with this goal, the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles (KSCT), which is known for its long-established history and tradition, as well as large international member base, founded Fashion and Textiles. The journal will serves as an academic platform for clothing-related fields. The KSCT opted for an open access model to enable researchers to share their ideas and academic successes to a wide-ranging audience. In the past four years, Fashion and Textiles has grown rapidly, receiving high-quality papers from researchers from all over the world. We believe that it will continue to grow and expand its influence.
How has the journal’s field advanced in the past few years?
Kyung Wha Oh: The recent trend of growing diversity and deepening expertise in the fashion and textiles field has naturally led to greater interdisciplinary collaboration. Ahead of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the entire textile industry, from manufacturing to retail, nowadays anticipates greater interaction among various technologies. Alongside huge progress in materials science, innovations in design have facilitated the emergence of smart wear, and developments in 3D garment design technology and 3D printing have noticeably reduced the average time it takes from design to manufacturing. Further, artificial intelligence has allowed the industry to react to consumer needs in real time. Thus, we believe that interdisciplinary and cross-functional research is more important than ever in the field of fashion and textiles.
What do you see as being some of the key opportunities and challenges for the future of this field?
Byoungho Jin: The clothing and textile discipline is interdisciplinary in nature. The discipline encompasses the entire supply chain from fiber to end consumers. This very nature can bring us opportunities and challenges at the same time. As the second-largest industry in the world after agriculture, the mission of our field is solving problems around apparel, which no one can go without. To provide better solutions, we can collaborate amongst ourselves and with adjacent disciplines, encompassing materials science, social psychology, sociology, ergonomics, history, design, aesthetics, art, business, operation, marketing and retail. I believe we have a unique opportunity to contribute something to the world. However, if we do not embrace the diversity, we may lose our own identity, which can be challenging. Fashion and Textiles aims to be interdisciplinary inspiring both practitioners and academia with forward-looking ideas.
What are some of your favorite articles that have been published so far in Fashion and Textiles and why?
Kyung Wha Oh: Among many studies listed in Fashion and Textiles, I would say that Khanna’s paper (awarded 2017 Youngone Best Paper) “Performance assessment of fragrance finished cotton with cyclodextrin assisted anchoring hosts” has drawn my interest greatly. I highly credit the paper’s originality of introducing a manufacturing breakaway that uses modified cyclodextrin as anchoring hosts to preserve various fragrances for a long time. Because consumer’s lifestyles have changed over time with regard to fashion, beauty and , research on value-added functional textiles have attracted attention.
Byoungho Jin: As soon as our first issue was published in 2014, one business magazine in Japan approached the authors of the very first article in the issue, expressing their interests in sharing the contents of the article with their audience. The article was “Asian apparel brands aiming for global: The cases of internationalization of Giordano and Uniqlo.” We were pleasantly surprised because it meant that the journal had reached practitioners, as we envisioned Fashion and Textiles. The magazine shared the article in Japanese with us (which, of course, I cannot read) but I thought it was pretty cool!
Finally, please tell us a little about yourself and your research.
Kyung Wha Oh: I received a Ph.D. in Textile Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, USA, and I am currently a professor in the department of Fashion Design in Chung-Ang University, Korea. Over the past 30 years, I have focused my studies on the development of high-functional and eco-friendly textile materials and artificial actuator through interdisciplinary research drawing expertise from engineering, medicine and textile science. Recently, I have been working on the development of biomass-based self-healing textiles and eco-friendly elastomers for their potential use in sportswear textiles.
Byoungho Jin: I am Putman and Hayes Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA. Research is my passion. Thus far, I have published more than 100 refereed journal papers and 5 books. My research areas are international retailing and branding. I have conducted many externally funded research projects on consumers and industries in China, India, Vietnam, Italy, and Saudi Arabia. Currently, I am conducting a research project about internationalization strategies for small- and medium-sized firms and serve as series editor for Global Fashion Brand Management book by Palgrave. I am presently Vice President of Planning at the International Textiles and Apparel Association, an advisory board member for the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and an associate editor for Clothing and Textiles Research Journal and Fashion and Textiles. In 2016, I was a visiting scholar at the University of Macerata, Italy.
You can read the latest research — and submit your own paper — by visiting the journal homepage.
The post An interview with the Editors of Fashion and Textiles appeared first on SpringerOpen blog.
