Fabrics covered with digital images of giant flowers, mutated frogs, skeletal X-rays and cathedral windows have gained seven ISU students and two faculty members entrance to the International Textile and Apparel Association’s annual exhibit.

The ITAA exhibit will take place in Kansas City, Mo., from today to Monday. The exhibit will feature a runway show and a gallery showcase. During the runway portion of the exhibit, each student will model his or her own design.

The ITAA is a professional organization for people who teach in apparel design and textiles across the country, said Jean Parsons, assistant professor of textiles and clothing.

Parsons said only one out of three pieces submitted is accepted.

J.R. Campbell, assistant professor of textiles and clothing, said that out of 102 entries from all over the world submitted for the gallery portion, 36 were accepted, six of which were from ISU students and faculty. For the runway portion, 175 entries were submitted and 58 were accepted, three from Iowa State.

“To have six undergrad pieces and one graduate piece accepted is pretty good,” Campbell said.

Parsons said each design was chosen through a jury process.

“Slides and written statements about the designs were sent to be rated by a panel of reviewers and the top ones were picked for the exhibit,” Parsons said.

Campbell said the designs were created through a process of digital imaging in which photographs were taken and images were manipulated and printed directly onto fabric.

Most of the accepted pieces came out of a digital apparel design class last summer, Parsons said.

Jihyun Kim, graduate student in textiles and clothing, said the inspiration for her piece, “Korean traditional bridal gown: Hwal-Ot” came from the shape of the two-dimensional oriental dresses.

“The original bridal gown used a lot of embroidery,” Kim said. “In my piece, I used one flower and repeated the image. I manipulated the picture of the flower in Photoshop and printed the digitized image onto fabric.”

Kim said her piece looks somewhat like a coat that would be worn over a Korean bridal outfit.

“I wanted to create a new image for the new millennium,” she said.

Campbell’s piece, “Forced Evolution,” was developed from an image of partially mutated frogs belly-up in a pool of water, combined with X-ray photographs of human hands.

“The hands are smeared through the image on top of the frogs to give a human impression on the species,” Campbell said.

“I’m more of a surface designer. I think a lot about imagery.”

Campbell and Parsons have a collaborative piece, “Cathedral,” to be shown in the gallery exhibit.

Parsons said the garment was designed to create the shape of windows, using a photograph of a cathedral window printed directly onto fabric.

Students and faculty whose work was chosen are: Angela Sampson, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production; Ashley Drahn, junior in apparel merchandising, design and production; Sara Hartig, sophomore in apparel merchandising, design and production; Emily Whitmer, junior in apparel merchandising, design and production; Kristina Wagner, freshman in pre-business; Elizabeth Gardner, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production; Kim; Parsons; and Campbell.

Digital pictures and abstracts of all pieces selected from Iowa State can be viewed at www.fcs.iastate.edu/info/news/nn20012002/October/1024.htm.