Department of Applied Design

Education

• PhD in Textile Technology Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

• MSc in Textile and Apparel Technology, The University of Texas at Austin

• BA in Fashion Management (conc. Design), University of The Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX

Teaching and Research Interest(s)

• Dr. Nicole Villarreal is a designer, researcher, and costume historian whose work sits at the intersection of textile history, material practice, and emerging digital technologies. Her research focuses on the preservation and reinterpretation of historic costume, including the use of 3D apparel simulation to digitize significant garments.

Professional Affiliation(s)

• CSA - Costume Society of America

• ICOM - International Council of Museums

Publication(s) and/or Exhibition(s)

• Making Together After Helene: Quilting for Community Recovery in Post-Hurricane Appalachia. Tellez, A., Arteaga-Arredondo. I., Villarreal, N. 49th Annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference, 2026.
  
  
• From Scarcity to Preservation: The ‘curtain dress’ as recycled icon. 52nd Annual National Symposium of the Costume Society of America, 2026.
  
  
• Desert Ink. Transformations: App DigiFab. Exhibition at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, NC. Nov 2022-May 2023.

• "Bound by costume: The expression of creative individuality through adornment," Costume Society of America Symposium, 2021

• "Old clothes, new technology: The use of 3D apparel simulation software for digitizing historic costume,"  Costume Society of America Symposium, 2020

• "The digitization of a nationally significant historic dress using 3D apparel simulation software," ITAA Annual Conference Proceedings, 2020

• "Evaluation of open-source software for use with a clothing virtual try-on system," Godfree Gert, Nicole Villarreal, & Liwen Gu, ITAA Annual Conference Proceedings, 2017

Something Fun

• When I'm not teaching or doing research, you can find me exploring Boone and surroundings.

Additional Work Samples