ITAA Proceedings 1999 President's Address

              Page 1 of 5
© 2011, International Textile and Apparel Association, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ITAA Proceedings, #62 – www.itaaonline.org
1999 Proceedings Santa Fe, New Mexico
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
DESIGNS FOR THE MILLENNIUM: THE FUTURE WITH A VUE
Margaret Rucker University of California, Davis, CA, 95616
In the first part of my address, I would like to present a few images of exciting new designs in textiles and apparel that have appeared as we end one millennium and prepare to start another. In gathering these examples, I have taken a broad view of our field and used a broad definition of design. I think it is important to remind ourselves of all the areas in which we can have an impact and should have a presence if we intend to be true to our vision of being "the premier organization of textile and apparel professionals focusing on the interdependent, dynamic and global nature of the field." In addition to making contri-butions in each of our individual areas, I believe it is also important to be alert to oppor-tunities for interdisciplinary contribution. The interdependent nature of our field often requires an interdisciplinary approach to prob-lem solving. Therefore, one of my goals for this year is to highlight and foster our connections. In the second part of my address, I will outline my thoughts on three additional goals I intend to pursue during my term of office. These goals are related to the visibility, utility, and engagement of our association-in other words, the future with a VUE.
Millennium Overload
Images that celebrate our past accom-plishments and project our views of the future are everywhere. The American Scientist has proposed a list of the top 100 science books of the century and American Photo has given us a compilation of the photographs of the century. ITAA designers presented gar-ments from their "Future and Space Look" and "New Millen-nium" collections last year; this year, we have design titles that include "Armour for the New Millennium" and "Recycled Fur for the Millennium." Great Britain has built the Millen-nium Dome that purports to be the largest dome in the world-using 100,000 square yards of Teflon-coated, glass-fiber fabric stretched over steel cables. There are those who would say that we are suffering from millennium over-load. In fact, a few colleagues encouraged me to change the title of my talk to designs for the next century, decade or even year-anything to break the monotony of the millennium. Because of concerns about Y2K computer crashes and related problems, there are some people who have even more negative feelings about the beginning of the 21st century. Their image of January 1, 2000 is more like the monster from a recent cover of the New Yorker magazine than a baby New Year, happy and full of potential. I prefer to take the more posi-tive view and delight in the creativity evident in all aspects of our field and the energy generated by connecting with each other.
The Designs