A small, young woman walks quietly down a dimly lit street, trying her best to blend into the environment so as not to attract unwanted attention. She struggles with this though, as she's dressed quite fashionably. She pulls her coat closer to her body. Suddenly, two large hands grab her from behind, but these hands are no match for the prepared woman as the attacker receives a jolt of electricity from her coat. In pain from both the physical and emotional shock of the situation, the man falls to the ground, and the woman runs to safety.

It's not a scene from a television show, and the shocking jacket is not a high-tech gadget from a James Bond movie. Instead, it's part of the future of fashion, according to Catherine Leslie, assistant professor in the School of Fashion Design and Merchandising at Kent State University.

Society has long revolved around the fashions of the time, but Leslie expects great ideas in the future of the industry and the school. She   says researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed technology in fabric that someone could use to shock attackers, but obviously problems exist with it because people could use it as a weapon simply getting on and off a bus or subway.

In addition to predator-warding fabric, Leslie   says researchers are developing fabrics that can control themselves by regulating how hot or cold they are based on a person's body temperature.

"I'd like to see that technology, but to make it fashionable looking clothing that can hold all your gadgets and doodads like your cell phone and iPod," says Leslie, who holds a doctorate in textiles and clothing.

As technology changes, so will the "in-style" fashions, and world events have a major impact on that. Leslie   says in the 1970s, Polyester was considered a luxury fabric and was very expensive because it is oil based, so the energy crisis made prices high.

Nobody can predict society's political future, but they can predict what the new trends will be. Although low-rise, flared pants have prevailed as the dominant style the past few years, Leslie   says people will start seeing more emphasis placed back on the waist instead of the hips. This means farewell to low-rise. She also   says people will see more attention drawn to the backsides of people through fashion.

Leslie would like to see more emphasis placed on men's clothing. She   says many of the corporate leaders are men, but the emphasis has traditionally been placed on women's attire.

"Men's clothing hasn't changed since about the industrial revolution," Leslie   says. "Women are exploited as sex objects and men as success objects. I'd like to see some of that blur and see that men feel they have to look good for us." If men started caring more about what they wear because women start expecting more out of them, society may see more trends in men's fashion, mainly the addition of more color to the traditional black. Megan Massingill, a junior fashion design student at Kent State, agreed that men's fashion rarely changes.

"It's really hard to design men's wear because they're not looking for high fashion or the latest trend," Massingill   says. "Most of it is traditional. They're looking for something they can wear from season to season to season."

On a local level, Leslie envisions jets flying into the area as the industry's leaders want to see what Kent State is doing next. She wants students graduating, impacting the industry and bringing it all back to the school. Massingill transferred to Kent State from a program at a small technical school. She will graduate in May 2005, and she knows what she wants to do with her degree.

"I'll always be working for the customer. In this industry you will always be working for the customer, but I want to design what I think people want and get myself recognized as someone who has attention to detail and is generous with students," Massingill   says.

She also plans to bring back her successes to the university. In 20 years she hopes to impact students the same way the current alumni have impacted her and other students. She   says some designers are not appreciative of students and do not work to help them, but others really strive to help students gain experience and further their careers.

"A lot of them reach out and offer internships and scholarships, and in 20 years I would like to do that also," Massingill   says. "It really helps the school and it boosts our morale."

As alumni return, Leslie hopes faculty will choose to come to Kent State instead of other fashion schools in bigger cities. An ever-increasing quality of faculty leads her to believe the school's enrollment will continue to grow. She   says the school's enrollment increased by 130 students simply from last year to a total of 857 this year.

As enrollment grows, Leslie would also like to see the addition of another major in the program. Currently the school offers either design or merchandising, but she would like an in-between program focused on product development. This would incorporate both the business and design elements of the industry.

"Since Sept. 11, parents may not want to send their kids to New York, so we're safer because we're in the Midwest," Leslie   says. "We could continue to grow and fill a demand in that we are in the Midwest and in a safer place. But we do need funding and supersonic grants."

Massingill says students will continue to choose Kent State over other design schools because students can obtain a holistic college experience that they can't get by attending a design school. Her experiences outside the school of fashion have helped her most within the school.

"You're sewing and designing all day, almost every day. It consumes you, but it's nice to walk to another part of campus and be outside that," Massingill   says. "They have just as good instruction as us, but we have great resources and inspiration in other people."

Whatever the future may hold, Leslie hopes people recognize the importance of fashion and its impact on society, both past and present.

"We're all the same when we're naked. What you put on is how you present yourself," Leslie   says. "Everyone thinks they know about clothes because they wear them, but there's a lot more."