June 3, 2025
In his mid-20s, one of Emma Nicoson’s best friends learned that he was suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, a rare and progressive eye disease that leads to the deterioration of the retinas. A simple request from that friend made Nicoson, a doctoral student at the University of Missouri, come to an important realization.
“My friend was looking for a new outfit for an upcoming job interview and wanted me to tag along,” she said. “The entire time I was trying to figure out how to describe the clothing to him. I had built a career in fashion and was still struggling to explain things. Picking out clothes is a fairly easy task — unless you’re visually impaired.”
That shopping experience stuck with Nicoson when she returned to Indiana State University for a master’s degree in textile and apparel management.
“I was looking for research that would give me meaning and purpose,” she said. “I realized that there wasn’t much being done in this space, as far as aiding visually impaired individuals with fashion choices.”
Now in her second year as a doctoral student in Mizzou’s College of Arts and Science, Nicoson is advancing research that aims to improve accessibility in fashion for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Her work will gain even greater momentum following her recent selection as an American-Scandinavian Foundation Fellow.
“I’m really thankful to the Mizzou Office of Global and National Fellowships for bringing this opportunity to my attention,” Nicoson said. “I was looking for an international opportunity and after a couple of opportunities didn’t materialize, the team over there let me know about this fellowship. I tweaked a few of my applications and my mentors were willing to provide updated material, which I’m so thankful for.”
As an American-Scandinavian Foundation Fellow, Nicoson will spend a year in Norway, specifically at the University of Oslo. She will be learning from a team of blind computer scientists and partnering with the Department of Informatics at Oslo. Nicoson will also be doing some nonprofit work with a rehabilitation service organization for the blind.
“I’m thankful that I’ve been able to mesh my interest in fashion and my desire to aid those who are blind of visually impaired,” Nicoson said. “All individuals should be able to express themselves through their fashion choices.”
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