The International Association of Costume (IAOC) was established on September 11, 1982, under the proposal of late Dr. TANNO Kaoru, who pointed out that the international sharing and exchange of academic accomplishments of costume studies would be indispensable for the future of the genre; the IAOC's goal is “to contribute to the development of fashion science by conducting interdisciplinary costume research in Japan and other countries around the world with relevant members from various countries.” The IAOC has been actively conducting various projects under the leadership of past and present presidents. These projects include organizing annual general meetings, conferences, and several workshops, the biannual publication of two issues of the official journal titled Journal of International Association of Costume, two biannual issues of the official bulletin titled Bulletin of International Association of Costume, and various specialized books of the genre (the publication of the bulletin was terminated with the 74th issue published in March 2021, and some contents of the bulletin were transferred to the official journal).

The primary international activity of the IAOC is highlighted by the International Costume Congress, which was originally organized on a trial basis as a Japan-Korea joint conference held in 1980 with the title　“The Symposiums on Japanese-Korean Costume Culture”
“With the symposium’s success, a shared understanding spread among relevant parties in Japan that the establishment of an organizing body should be mandatory for further development of the field of costume culture. A group of researchers started a project immediately, which was realized as a joint congress of three nations of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, with the title “the 1st Asia Costume Congress” held in Taipei, Taiwan; the organizing committee of the Congress was the founding body of the IAOC. Following the success of the first Congress, the Asia Costume Congress was held in the three nations of Taiwan, Japan, and Korea in this order on a rotating basis until the seventh Congress in 1988. A proposal was made in this particular Congress to expand the community of costume study to a global scale, and its name was changed to the International Costume Congress in the hope of holding events worldwide, including Europe and the United States. Beginning with the 8th International Costume Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, Congress has been held in various cities worldwide, including New York, Copenhagen, Paris, and Bath, despite multiple challenges. Since the 21st Congress in 2004, it has been held every other year. In addition, a study tour titled “Costume Culture Study Tour” has been held since 2009 every other year without international Congress to supplementally provide researchers with opportunities of academic exchange to expand knowledge in collaboration with local researchers of various countries, including Bulgaria, Finland, India, Bhutan, Laos, and other countries we visit.
(See also articles of International Costume Congress, Costume Culture Study Tour, Academic Exchange Projects)

The IAOC is a member of cooperative academic research organization of the Science Council of Japan. It is also an active member of the “Consortium of Human Life Science” established for information-sharing and collaboration between the Science Council of Japan and academic societies and life science associations.