Hot stuff: MU grad student blends functionality, fashion for volcanologists – Columbia Missourian
MU graduate student Abby Romine is redefining volcanic vogue by combining blocks of color and practicality in the design of her “lava suits.”
Four years ago at a volcano in Guatemala, MU geological sciences chair Alan Whittington struggled with the unbearable heat of heavy clothing near molten rock.
“I wore Abby’s clothes for the first time at a quarry in Colorado,” Whittington said. “The first thing we all noticed was how comfortable and lightweight they were.”
A team of graduate students in the MU Department of Geological Sciences field-test the lava suits created by Abby Romine, a graduate student in Textile and Apparel Management, during a recent research trip to Colorado.
PHOTO Courtesy of the MU News Bureau
Romine came up with a design that was flame-retardant, abrasion-resistant and padded in all the right places. Detailed with strategically placed pockets and a color-block pattern, the final product accomplished her mission of creating tactical gear with a trendy flare.
“I wanted to make it look like fashion but also be functional,” she said.
After serving in the Army as an intelligence analyst for four years, Romine studied interior design at MU and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2011. During her last semester of school, she took a costume construction class that uncovered her passion for sewing. It confirmed something she’d known all along.
Abby Romine explains her suit design to visitors Mary Frances Hodson, left, and Kerri Packard, right, on Tuesday in Gwynn Hall at the University of Missouri. Romine did all of the sewing by hand required for the four suit designs she created.
Armond Feffer/Missourian
“I would sit there on guard duty designing clothing,” Romine said. “It was always there — I just took the longest route possible to lead me back to what I love to do.”
In preparation for her thesis project, Romine was teamed up with Whittington in fall 2017 to design what she called a “functional, expressive and aesthetically pleasing” design for him and his team of graduate students. During their free time, Whittington and his students travel around the world and study volcanoes.
“I mean, fundamentally, I just really enjoy playing with lava,” Whittington said. “But at the end of a few weeks out in the field, my pants will have extensive damage and need to be repaired. They also can be pretty heavy.”
After the volcanologists answered a thorough questionnaire about their ideal field suit, Romine got to work on picking the right materials and forming the perfect design for her project.
With the help of MU alumna Kathryn Knight, Romine was able to attain the fabrics needed to make her designs protective for volcanologists in the field. Knight is an apparel director at FirstSpear, a company that designs premium tactical gear for professionals, such as the military and law enforcement.
“Actually working with an industry company and getting actual fabric versus just stuff that we could go and buy on the internet is so unique,” said Kristen Morris, an assistant professor in textile and apparel management at MU and Romine’s thesis adviser. “It’s got a whole bunch of technical properties, and we can’t just buy that. So to have access to that was kind of a really cool thing.”
A model displays one of Abby Romine’s male suit designs for viewers to examine during the exhibit Tuesday in Gwynn Hall at MU. Romine tested her designs in a design competition last October in China. She won the Golden Shell Award for User-Centered Design at the competition.
Armond Feffer/Missourian
Besides being a success in the volcanic field, Romine was given the opportunity to participate in an international fashion show: the World University Student Fashion Design Competition in Qingdao City, China, hosted by the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology in October 2018.
While on a summer New York City study tour with the Department of Textile and Apparel Management, Romine said she was “just lucky” in being given the opportunity to showcase her pieces abroad in the coming fall season.
“I started sketching in July and was pattern-making in August,” she said. “I did everything in eight weeks. It was, like, 10 apparel pieces.”
Even on a time crunch, Romine still managed to leave China with the Golden Shell Award.
“What ended up getting me the prize was that it was user-centered design,” she said. “All of the designs were based off of what users were telling me that they needed for garments.”
As she approaches the end of her journey as a graduate student, Romine hopes for a future that includes designing clothing for an outdoor apparel company. Already, her influence might mean a change in what volcanologists wear. Although volcanology is a small community, Romine’s designs are starting to be known.
“My students and I posted our story on our socials, and a lot of people have already expressed interest it the apparel,” Whittington said. “But right now, there’s only a few of these things in existence.”
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