[can-events] RMIT / IFFTI FASHION CONFERENCE UPDATE (P1-J)

IFFTI2008
The Body: Connections with Fashion
10th Annual Conference for the International Foundation of Fashion
Technology Institutes (IFFTI) 

Saturday 8 - Sunday 9 March 2008

Hosted by RMIT University
School of Architecture & Design and School of Fashion & Textiles
Melbourne, Australia

www.iffti08.com.au 
 
 
The IFFTI2008 Program offers over 50 presentations from international
researchers, academics and practitioners expounding research
directions
relating to the theme ‘The Body: Connections with Fashion’. Paper
presentations also respond to Conference sub themes: Nobody /
Everybody;
Collective / Self; Habitat / Wellbeing; Body-Tech; performance;
Temporality; Politics and Futures. 

Hear the latest research and speculation from IFFTI members and the
broader research community relating to fashion and related practices
that explore notions of the body in fashion; from the utilitarian
function of clothing to the discipline of semiotics; from the business
of fashion to manufacturing, materials technology, design innovation,
history and education. 

RMIT University is proud to welcome Pacific Brands as the IFFTI08
major
sponsor. 

KEYNOTE: 

Sir George Cox (UK)

IT entrepreneur, former Director General of the Institute of Directors
and Chair of the British Design Council, Sir George Cox is the author
of
the 2005 Cox Review of Creativity in Business, commissioned by the UK
Government: a fundamental review now highly regarded for its
recommendations being adopted by UK businesses and motivating a
cultural
shift in how they operate. 

How can businesses face up to the challenge of a world that is
becoming
vastly more competitive? Sir George Cox claims creative capabilities
lie
at the very core of a business’s ability to compete. Enterprise that
fails to be sufficiently creative is simply pouring more energy into
prolonging yesterday’s ideas.  

Innovation isn’t something confined to a company’s R&D unit.
It’s
a mindset that needs to permeate the whole of a company’s
activities.
Competition is going to get tougher. The only answer is to be more
enterprising and more creative.

“Sir George Cox is a corporate chameleon with a unique skill set
honed over a varied and strong career. Cox is no art college aesthete,
but someone who views design through the pragmatic eyes of business.”

( www.50lessons.com )



SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS by representatives from Pacific Brands and
Ripcurl highlight the latest innovations from these Australian
icons.

Pacific Brands is a leading manager of Everyday Essential Brands. With
headquarters in Melbourne, Pacific Brands has operations throughout
Australia as well as in New Zealand, United Kingdom, Malaysia, China
and
Indonesia. Pacific Brands products include quintessential Australian
brands such as Bonds, Berlei, Dunlop Sport, Hard Yakka, Slazenger,
Holeproof, King Gee, Clarks Childrens, and Sheridan and others. The
scope of these brands means that virtually every aspect of
Australians'
lifestyle incorporates Pacific Brands. Pacific Brands has over 9000
employees worldwide and its origins can be traced back to 1893. 

Ripcurl, synonymous with everything 'surfculture', is still based in
the seaside town of Torquay (Victoria). Ripcurl has been the market
leader in surfing wetsuits for over 30 years, and its Elastomax and
SlickSkin technologies have set the standard for wetsuits of the
future.
Ripcurl products include surfwear, mountainwear, surfboards, and
advanced technology watches and the world's first power heated
wetsuit.


COCKTAIL PARTY at Champions, Federation Square. 

Our Cocktail Night at Champions venue at Federation Square provides
delegates with an opportunity to network and debrief about the IFFTI08
Conference. In the style of Pecha Kucha experts will compete against
the
clock to present images and their ideas about innovation and fashion
futures. The best of over 100 student submissions from over 30 fashion
institutes to the IFFTI08 Student Competition: ' Uncharted Bodies -
innovative concepts beyond the frontiers of the known body' will be
projected on the big video screen in Federation Square. Winners of the
competition, which required students to submit images of a capsule
range
around the theme, will be announced during the night. Situated in the
heart of Melbourne's sporting and cultural precinct the venue offers
breath-taking views of the city skyline and Melbourne's Yarra river,
and
superb catering. 

IFFTI SURF COAST TOUR

The IFFTI Surf Coast Tour provides an opportunity for IFFTI2008
Conference delegates and friends to experience regional Victoria, in
particular, the seaside town of Torquay, the home of Australia's surf
culture. Participants will travel by bus to Torquay where the morning
can be spent exploring quintessential Australian surfwear retail
outlets, a variety of eating venues, a walk on the beach or a swim in
the ocean.   
 

GENERAL ENQUIRIES: iffti at rmit.edu.au 
   
IFFTI2008 Conference Convenors:
Tina Guglielmino - Programs Manager, School of Fashion & Textiles
Mick Peel - Program Director (Fashion) School of Architecture & Design