Albert Myers Distinguished Professor Ellie Jin is receiving the highest award given by the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) by being recognized as an ITAA Fellow for her outstanding contributions to the field of textiles and clothing.
Path to Fellow
Almost a century old, the ITAA is a professional, educational organization for academics in the textile, apparel and merchandising disciplines created to exchange research and ideas. It’s the only academic organization of its kind, which is why the “scholarly exchange” is extremely valuable, according to Jin.
The Fellow is awarded to a member who has significantly contributed to the field of textiles and clothing and/or service within the ITAA. Jin is certainly deserving of this award having served as president in 2021 and has been an active member of the organization since the ’90s, when she was still in graduate school.
“It feels really great to know my contributions are being recognized,” Jin says. “It’s not just academic, but a combination of research, contribution to the field and organization and leadership – all of those together.”
Originally from South Korea, Jin is a scholar in global fashion marketing and business and has traveled to many countries to research fashion markets. Her research is focused on branding, retailing in emerging markets, technology applications and innovative business models. She has published over 145 journal articles, two textbooks – “Fashion Business” (2002) and “Global Fashion Business” (2024) – and an edited book series titled “Global Fashion Brand Management” containing seven volumes. She has earned funding for numerous research projects from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea, and received multiple awards including the Distinguished Scholar Award (2019), Prentice Hall Lecturer Award (2007), numerous Paper of Distinction Awards (2007-2024), and the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor Award (2009).
“I congratulate Dr. Ellie Jin on becoming an ITAA Fellow,” says Kristin A. Thoney-Barletta, interim head of the Department of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management (TATM). “Dr. Jin’s leadership and years of service within the ITAA, combined with her significant teaching and research contributions to textile and apparel management, make her an obvious choice to receive this great honor.”
A Legacy of Learning
Jin joined the Wilson College in 2018 as the Albert Myers Distinguished Professor. Alongside excelling in her research, she deeply values teaching and mentoring next generations. She is an advisor for doctoral and master’s students. Most of them are now faculty in the USA, Taiwan and Korea and leading the discipline.
In 2022, she established the Fashion and Textile Business Excellence Cooperative (FTBEC) – an industry-university partnership dedicated to advancing the fashion and textile industry. It aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry, giving students applied learning opportunities. At the beginning of this fall semester, FTBEC began a partnership with Gerber Childrenswear, LLC on a sustainable packaging initiative.
“I had the idea because our discipline is an applied science, you can’t just do it in the classroom or lab. Students should have hands-on experiences,” Jin says. “We talk a lot about branding and marketing, but they don’t always have the chance to apply their knowledge to real-world contexts before they graduate. I’m so happy to see my vision coming to fruition and students love to be involved.”
Another one of Jin’s recent accomplishments is the AI in the Textile and Fashion Industries conference, which she led with Professors Abdel-Fattah Seyam and Blan Godfrey this August.
Reflecting on the experience, she remarked, “As a distinguished professor, I feel a deep responsibility to guide the profession and industry by providing practical insights to support the current and future workforce,” she says. “Seeing the strong attendance and the inspiration among participants was immensely rewarding.”
Receiving the ITAA Fellow award and starting a new industry partnership aren’t the only things Jin has accomplished so far this fall semester. Her textbook, “Global Fashion Business,” was released in August. This textbook was developed based on her numerous funded research in emerging markets and teaching for her senior level global brand management class.
“That’s another legacy I’m leaving behind. Even though I’ll eventually be retiring, I will do my best to revise this book and keep it timely. After me, my students can build as second or third authors so the book continues to evolve after me,” Jin says. “I’m so proud of them; they are the future generations. So in that sense, I feel very proud that I can contribute to the field and the world. I feel it’s my calling from God to have the honor of serving as a professor and leave my legacy in this way.”
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