“I love working with my hands, I love making things, and it’s hard for me to imagine doing anything else.”
If this week’s campus celeb is anything, she’s passionate. This double major recently took third place in the Industrial Fabrics Association International Advanced Textiles Student Design Challenge for her innovative Scoliosis Pain Relief Garment. Remember the name Hannah Smithson, because someday we very well may be seeing her designs in Vogue!
Name: Hannah Smithson
Major: Apparel Design and Development, Business Administration (double major)
Year: Senior
Hometown: Janesville, WI
HC: You recently took third place in the Industrial Fabrics Association International, what was that competition all about?
HS: My group took third place in the IFAI Advanced Textiles Student Design Challenge, which is about using innovative textiles in creative ways to solve a problem—usually in a high-performance area such as medical or military.
HC: Tell us about your amazing Scoliosis Pain Relief Garment and how you thought of it.
HS: As designers we always try to start with a problem, and this time we started with the problem regarding adult women with scoliosis. On a personal level, I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 19, and I found that once someone reaches skeletal maturity, there are very few non-surgical options for correction and even fewer options for pain relief. There are also some women who were diagnosed in childhood but were not able to correct their curve before they reached skeletal maturity, for a number of possible reasons. So we wanted to create a garment—we didn’t quite know what form it would take—that would improve their quality of life without becoming dependent on painkillers or facing the time demands and expense of physical therapy. There are lots of options for those looking to correct their spine, but that becomes impossible after skeletal maturity and the focus shifts to pain relief. What we noticed in our research was that there were virtually no wearable options focused on pain relief in adults and we wanted to fill that gap.
HC: You were in a team with two other designers for this competition, Abby Bitzer and Shannon Krohn, what roles did each of you play in this process?
HS: I was technically designated as team leader, but our roles throughout the process were definitely quite fluid. As a part of a class activity in the first couple weeks, we evaluated our task/relationship quotient (I am very very task-oriented, Shannon is very relationship-oriented, and Abby is split nearly down the middle), as well as our strengths and weaknesses. Our roles would ebb and flow throughout the semester, but we tried to assign tasks based on our other strengths in the program, such as patternmaking, sewing, and fit correction. As far as the development and ideation, that was definitely something we all did together. Even not long afterwards we would forget who originally came up with the small ideas within our larger idea, because it felt like the effort of our collective group mind. Almost more important was how our personalities drove the group effort—I was the list-maker, Shannon was the cheerleader who kept us all going, and Abby would spur us into action when we were overwhelmed by the task at hand. It was interesting to spend so much time with group members but fun to pick up on their idiosyncrasies and quirky habits, and I still feel like I know them better than anyone in our program.
HC: Where did you get your inspiration?
HS: For the Scoliosis Pain Relief Garment, I actually got a lot of inspiration from reading testimonials of other products. Regardless of what field they’re in, the driving force behind any product developer is looking at the world and thinking, “I can make this better somehow,” and that feeling definitely pushed us to create what we did. But it’s definitely not a finished product—nothing in product development is—and to this day I keep thinking of ways we can make it better.
HC: Aside from your Scoliosis Pain Relief Garment, how would you explain your designs?
HS: The Scoliosis Pain Relief Garment was definitely a foray into a different area for me—I’m comfortable designing for a lot of different markets thanks to the way our classes have challenged us, but I tend to favor the junior’s market. I’m especially excited by the different changes in society with the younger generations of today and how that’s going to affect how they shop. There’s a whole part of the market that looks to fictional characters in TV shows, movies, and video games as their style icons instead of movie stars and other celebrities, and I find that so fascinating and inspiring. Because of that, my designs tend to stray away from the traditional American practicality approach, and are more akin to a lot of South Korean or Japanese designers.
HC: Why Apparel Design and Development?
HS: I do have a bit of an origin story as a designer: When I was a junior in high school, I went shopping with friends for a dress to wear to the homecoming dance. After hours of shopping, I hadn’t found a single dress that fit me and I felt so insecure that I cried afterwards. My mother, being the do-it-yourself person she is, told me, “Well, you know how to sew. Make your own dress.” So I did, and I basically never stopped. I love working with my hands, I love making things, and it’s hard for me to imagine doing anything else.
HC: What’s your favorite thing about UW-Stout?
HS: Personally, I love the Polytechnic/hands-on aspect of the university. When I did my first campus visit, I got to go into one of the classes, and I saw the Apparel Design students doing everything I had dreamed about doing—ideating, patternmaking, and bringing their visions to life on models. When I looked at the program plan, I saw fewer lecture classes than I could count on one hand and I knew I was in the right place.
HC: How are you involved on campus?
HS: I’ve worked at a lot of different places on campus, including Dining, Admissions as a tour guide, the Apparel Department as a Teacher’s Assistant and an ambassador for the program, and most recently Ask5000 as a Helpdesk Technician. I like to think of myself as an on-campus job connoisseur! Naturally, I’m involved with the Silhouettes Fashion Show, and I’ve been both a model and a designer. Last but not least, just like everyone else I have my vices, and one of mine is video games. I’ve been involved with PONG (the People’s Organization of Network Gaming) since I was a freshman, and I also served on the Executive Board as the Promoter for a year and a half. It’s harder and harder to spend time playing video games as my classes take up more of my time, but I make it work—I’ve brought my sewing machine and my knitting machine to the LAN parties before just so I can get stuff done while still being part of the event.
HC: What are your hopes for your future?
HS: I’ve definitely spent my fair share of time in the Midwest, so I’m ready to move on and try something new. And that’s the thing, I’m more or less addicted to learning new things, so wherever I end up is fine as long as I always have the chance to learn.
SPEED ROUND
Favorite Place on Campus: The MSC, specifically the Terrace.
Favorite TV Show: Rick and Morty
Favorite App: Between
One Word Your Friends Use to Describe You: Expressive!