Inside the Fashion Business

Kitty G. Dickerson is Department Chairman and Professor, Department of Textile and Apparel Management, University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Dickerson is a Fellow in the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) and has served as president of that group. She serves on the Board of Directors of Kellwood Company, a Fortune 700 apparel firm, which is the fifth-largest publicly owned apparel firm in the United States and the fifteenth-largest in the world, with sales well over $2 billion. She serves as Chairman of the Board's Corporate Governance Committee and is also a member of the Executive Committee and the Audit Committee. With previous experience in retailing, Dr. Dickerson's work focuses on the total softgoods industry. Also author of another Prentice Hall book, Textiles and Apparel in the Global Economy, Dr. Dickerson was an early leader in focusing on globalization in the industry. She was invited to write the apparel chapter for U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook, published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and has been asked by Standard & Poor's to write various softgoods industry analyses. She was chosen as the Bobbin "Educator of the Year," an award presented through ITAA. Additionally, she was named to Textile World's "Top Ten Leaders" list and has received numerous other academic and industry awards. She has published widely in scholarly and trade journals and has been invited to address academic and industry groups in the United States and in other countries.