Professional Apparel Association

Professional Apparel Association dates back to first half of the twentieth century. In the year 1935, the United States Office of Education collaborated with institutions of higher learning in studying the curricula. Consequentially conferences of textile and clothing were held annually. The first national level meeting of textile and clothing, was planned by three representing geographic regions. The meeting was held in Madison, Wisconsin in June, 1959. A National Steering Committee coordinated the work of these 3 regions, encouraging means of strengthening college teaching, and also developing future plans. The National Steering Committee, which was composed of representatives from the 3 regions, who developed guidelines for operation and membership eligibility. The organization was actually incorporated in 1979 and came to be known as Association of Institute Professors of Clothing and Textiles, Inc. In 1983 the organization was reorganized into a national unit with scheduled annual national meetings in 1988.The name of the organization was changed to International Textiles and Apparel Association in 1991 to reflect the global perspective and continually growing international membership.