Kayna Hobbs-Murphy, an assistant professor in the Department of Design and Merchandising at Colorado State University, applies her experience from working with a high fashion brand and her interests in creating more inclusive apparel to inspire students to think critically about the industry.
Tell us a bit about yourself!
I grew up in rural southern Minnesota and did my undergraduate degree in apparel design at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities. After a successful internship in New York City, I was hired as a patternmaker for a high fashion brand. I stayed in this role for four years before pursuing a master’s degree at Colorado State University in the Department of Design and Merchandising. I loved CSU and Fort Collins so much that I decided to stay to complete my Ph.D. in occupational ergonomics at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family, friends, and dogs. I currently have a 6-month-old son. Taking care of him takes up most of my time outside of academia, but I love all the joys and surprises that come with being a new mom. When I can find time, I enjoy all the wonderful cultural experiences that Fort Collins has to offer, such as museums, restaurants, breweries, and local shopping. Some of my favorite places to spend time include The Lyric and Old Town Square, which both often have live local music to enjoy!
What brought you to the Department of Design and Merchandising at CSU?
After completing my undergraduate degree and during my time in the NYC fashion industry, I knew I eventually wanted to return to a university setting as a professor, due to my love of both teaching and research. When searching for master’s degree programs, Design and Merchandising at CSU became the frontrunner; I connected with the department’s faculty, mission, goals, and position in the College of Health and Human Sciences. I am very fortunate to be able to return to the Department of Design and at CSU as a faculty member to help shape the lives of students as well as continue to do apparel-based research for human health and well–being.
What are your research and/or teaching interests, and how did you get interested in that topic?
There is an excess of clothing on our planet! Therefore, when starting my research career, I knew I wanted to focus on how clothing could help people. As I’ve continued, I’ve focused on investigating clothing, product, and body-size issues for marginalized communities, such as sportswear for disabled athletes, respirator facial dimensions for diverse populations, and, looking forward, the clothing needs of gender-diverse populations. I use state-of-the-art technology such as 3D body scanning in my research to help gather body measurement data to understand body size and shape trends like anthropometric research.
Through my research, I am seeking to impact the ways in which clothing and products are designed, sized, and made available for traditionally marginalized populations, including people with disabilities and trans peoples.
What is your teaching philosophy?
To encourage important changes in the apparel industry, I practice learner-centered teaching that engages the skillset, the analytic mind, and the creative thinking of students. Via a radical education philosophy, reconstructing the field of apparel can happen by encouraging students to critically think about the apparel industry and its systematic effects on our planet and humanity. Through my teaching, I hope to help students ask higher-power questions, such as: Why do we design and develop clothing? Who is this clothing for? Who isn’t it for? Who is affected by the development of this clothing? How could and should the apparel industry be changed? How do we affect this change through design and development practices?
What is your favorite thing about CSU so far?
Even though I have been local to CSU and Fort Collins since 2018, I am always learning new things about the University and community. Recently, I really have enjoyed engaging with students and faculty in this new role. In my experience, everyone I’ve engaged with at CSU has valued friendship and inclusivity. It is exciting to experience the passion of our Rams in a new way as an assistant professor!
The Department of Design and Merchandising is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
