Kara Haas, Contributing Writer
VCUarts fashion design and merchandising students will display their works in the theme of “Synergy” at their annual student-run fashion show at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on April 28.
“Synergy” conjures up movement, according to Kimberly Guthrie, associate professor and chair of the department.
“The synergy that we’re focusing on is if we have the tracks between merchandising and design come together and make synergy,” Guthrie said.
Design students are focusing on fabric and textiles in their garments. When designing, each student composes a own story within them, Guthrie said.
“Young designers are able to start developing a design point of view or design ethos,” Guthrie said. “Inspiration can come from a fabric, a technique or a cultural moment, and then that inspiration is what starts the story.”
Guthrie mentioned multiple fashion classes are involved such as a tailoring course, where students explored different pants designs. In the senior level course, they focus on the shapes and details of pants.
Other classes include “Mixteco,” focusing on indigenous craft. There is also a zero-waste collection where the dresses are made from pieces of waste fabric.
Students in the “CLO3D” course create designs on an online avatar and translate them into production patterns.
Fashion students feel a moment of the show that will leave an impression is “the flood,” where all students involved — in front and behind the scenes — celebrate the final product.
“The flood” displays the emotions of all the students who worked together for months putting the show together, according to fourth-year fashion merchandising student Haley Faison, who is the back of house director.
Kalani Coleman, another fourth-year fashion merchandising student and front of house director, agreed.
“It allows us to not only share who’s behind the scenes and who’s creating the show but also showing that we all have a connection,” Coleman said.
The audience can expect a surprise in the beginning of the show, the details of which are still under wraps.
“We do a decent job of doing something that kind of pulls you into the show to begin with,” said Greyson Foster, another front of house director.
Julia Karns, a fourth-year fashion merchandising student and the editor-in-chief of student-run publication River City Fashion, said a previous event she attended as a first-year deeply impacted her future.
“I hope that students who are underclassmen come to watch the show and have the same inspiration that I felt afterwards, feel inspired and have pride in our school and department,” Karns said.