Zip-locked in plastic bags, one-of-a-kind garments hang from racks in a large room in the Pollack building waiting to parade down the runway at the VCU Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising’s annual fashion show on Friday.
Karen Guthrie, chairperson of the Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising, described the goal of the fashion show: “to showcase student work, raise visibility of the fashion department and students that go here.”
For “Elements,” the juried runway show, student fashion designers return to nature, drawing inspiration for their collections from water, bark, precious metals and the periodic table, to name a few. Each class offers a different approach to nature.
Would you wear clothing inspired by a tree, or silk lounge wear as fluid as water? Many people are, according to fashion forecasting classes, and the show reflects the latest trend in the industry-natural and ethnic clothing.
Casey Longyear, a promotions and publicity coordinator for the show, considers the sportswear segment inspired by bark her favorite, but said all designs are worth seeing.
“The clothing is awesome,” the junior fashion merchandising major said. “It’s very professional. It’s nothing you’ll see in stores.”
This year’s theme, however, might have been more apt last year when storm clouds moved in and Mother Nature threatened to ruin the fashion show, held outdoors at Short Pump Town Center.
Henry Swartz, associate professor in the department of fashion design and merchandising, recalled the winds blowing sand around and lifting the skirts of the models on the runway. That kind of drama, he said, can’t be planned.
This year’s one-hour show has moved indoors, away from the threat of Richmond’s volatile weather, but Swartz said he never knows what to expect on the runway.
“Zippers come out. Models don’t show up. Something will slip, making it an X-rated show,” he said.
Sixty five to 75 junior and senior fashion design students present 125 garments in “Elements,” and 25 merchandising students produce the show.
The show, Swartz said, marks the beginning of great things to come for its participants.
“A lot of students go out and make it big in the fashion world and merchandising,” he said, citing one of his students who went on to work under Alexander McQueen, aka the bad boy of fashion design.
Swartz described this time of the year as both exciting and crazy.
“Everyone’s worn out,” he said.
To present their work in the fashion show, students first submitted their garments to a panel of critical judges. Ten industry professionals then selected which garments will appear in the show, and not all made the cut. Once chosen, students had only two weeks before the fashion show to make any last-minute changes to their garments.
Karen Guthrie, chairperson of the Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising, said the selection process ensures only the best designs make it to the runway.
“Because it is a jury show, it establishes standards of excellence for students. It helps maintain quality standards of craftsmanship and design.”