{"id":51909,"date":"2023-07-18T12:05:48","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T16:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/?p=51909"},"modified":"2024-05-09T13:29:55","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T17:29:55","slug":"katherine-annett-hitchcock-plans-to-stay-active-and-involved-after-retiring-from-the-wilson-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/textiles.ncsu.edu\/news\/2023\/07\/katherine-annett-hitchcock-plans-to-stay-active-and-involved-after-retiring-from-the-wilson-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Katherine Annett-Hitchcock Plans to Stay Active and Involved After Retiring from the Wilson College"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

By Raymond Jones<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Katherine Annett-Hitchcock<\/a> developed an interest in the specialty field of \u201cinclusive apparel\u201d while working on her Ph.D. at Virginia Tech. She was living off-campus at the time, in a house whose owner had contracted polio earlier in life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confined at times to a wheelchair, her landlady was having trouble finding clothing well-suited to her needs. After discovering that Annett-Hitchcock was a capable seamstress as well as a scholar, the landlady asked her to fashion some clothing better tailored to her circumstances.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annett-Hitchcock says that\u2019s when she really started to become aware of the differences \u2013 sometimes subtle, sometimes not \u2013 between off-the-rack and custom-made clothing. A born problem-solver, she immediately began looking for ways to use apparel in ways that could be life-changing as well as functional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Known as a passionate problem-solver<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This passion for problem-solving has always distinguished Annett-Hitchcock as a faculty member at the Wilson College of Textiles<\/a>. Although she retired at the end of June, she doesn\u2019t plan to walk away cold turkey from her position in the Department of Textile and Apparel Technology and Management<\/a>. In fact, she hopes to stay involved with NC State University by teaching a few classes online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing she\u2019s looking forward to is having more opportunities to visit family in the United Kingdom. Having grown up in England, Annett-Hitchcock received her first academic degree at the University of Manchester. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kate
Annett-Hitchcock (left) mentors a student working on their collection for Threads: A Student Texploration in the Wilson College of Textiles fashion studio. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Annett-Hitchcock\u2019s friends know she\u2019s a woman with diverse interests. At the undergraduate level she studied art history. Later, while working on her master\u2019s degree at Michigan State University, she was eyeing a career in museum collections management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That focus on museum work, however, shifted after she was assigned to an assistantship in the university\u2019s costume shop. Her capabilities there were such that at one point she designed and stitched all the costumes needed for a complete production of \u201cCharley\u2019s Aunt.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her exposure to so many different fabrics and body shapes in the costume shop sparked a decision to pursue the Ph.D. in clothing and textiles at Virginia Tech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always a prolific writer<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Annett-Hitchcock has always been a prolific contributor to professional journals. An even bigger milestone lies ahead this fall when Bloomsbury Academic publishes her first book, \u201cThe Intersection of Fashion and Disability: A Historical Analysis.\u201d It will be available online in October, followed by a hardcover release in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To continue the public discussion that she hopes will be generated by her book, she\u2019ll also be curating a website called DisabilityFashionHistory.com. <\/p>\n\n\n\n