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Students display artistic fashion

February 24, 2010

Criminal justice junior Shera Novak admires a dress during the Apparel and Textile Design Exhibition reception Wednesday at Kresge Art Center. The exhibition runs through March 12.

Photo by Kat Petersen | The State News

Lauren Myers brought a little piece of Spain to Kresge Art Center on Wednesday, meshing her taste and artistic technique with that of renowned surrealism artist Salvador Dali.

Myers, an apparel and textile design senior, exhibited a Dali-inspired gown and two other artistic design pieces in the 2010 Apparel and Textile Design Exhibition, along with 16 other undergraduate students, said Theresa Winge, assistant professor in the Department of Art and Art History.

The champagne and crimson-hued dress, which includes a ruffled front and a long train mimicking the elongated melting clocks featured in Dali’s “Persistence of Memory,” is part of an ongoing collection Myers is designing.

Myers said the reception and exhibition are a chance for people to experience the variety of the program’s work, noting that some designs are wearable and others more conceptual. For her, the challenge was making Dali’s techniques her own.

“I really researched my inspiration, and a lot of time went into the project,” Myers said. “Trying to incorporate (Dali’s) wacky aesthetic with my more subdued aesthetic was a challenge.”

Myers’ dress and 22 other student designs were on public display Wednesday at an open reception, in which the attendees and artists were able to interact. The exhibition, which opened Monday, will run through March 12.

Winge said the exhibition is the first for apparel and textile design students, a new addition to the Department of Art and Art History. Students exhibiting work in the galleries are high skill level students close to graduation. They are chosen to exhibit one, two or even three original pieces of work from the semester, Winge said.

“(The exhibition) is commemorating our adoption into the art and art history department,” she said. “What makes this interesting is that usually we see fashion walking very quickly down the runway or hanging in a store. This is a change for people to get up close and see the fashion, to get a sense of the time that goes into creating it.”

Sally Helvenston Gray, associate professor in apparel and textile design, was part of the faculty group that evaluated 57 student submissions for the exhibition.

“We evaluated them in terms of workmanship, visual impact, creativity and aesthetics,” Helvenston Gray said.

“They should be very proud that they have some designs that were viewed by their professors as being exemplary — good design, quality design, creative design. It’s exciting to have a certain level of achievement.”

Winge said a new aspect of the apparel and textile design program focuses on getting students to think more creatively about sustainable design. The exhibition includes a dress made from bamboo and another made from melted shopping bags, she said.

“We’re just starting to explore this idea of sustainability,” she said. “Our program really builds on the foundations of design and then we expect our students to create from there.”

Thu Tran, an apparel and textile design sophomore, who attended the reception, said the exhibition was a great learning experience for her as a younger student.

“It’s definitely inspiring,” Tran said. “I look at the technique they use and the structure and try to figure out how they pieced it together.”

Artist and apparel and textile design senior Emily Rohrer, who had three pieces featured, said the show was important to the artists.

“People see your work and that’s all any of us really wants,” Rohrer said. “Fashion is an art. The stereotype of fashion designers being just pretty girls isn’t accurate. We really do have skills and talents.”

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