“It takes a year to the day to prepare,” said Theresa Winge, an assistant professor of apparel and textile design who co-directed the show. “After one year’s fashion show, we’re going over how the show went and doing tidbits for the next year backstage.”

The show

The sold-out show began with FASH Forward, a design competition meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the MSU College of Arts and Letters. For the contest, student designers were expected to channel the looks of fashion icons going back as far as the ‘60s, ranging from Twiggy to Cindy Crawford.

Apparel and textile design junior Shannon Gillespie, also a junior director of the show, said FASH Forward pumped up the competition for students submitting their work to be featured in the show.

“It was much more competitive this year,” Gillespie said. “We had so many students submit designs, and we really had to pick the best things there to bring forward people in the community.”

With no theme in mind, the second half of the show included a wider range of designs, with recurring fashions from student directors Taylor Varner and Martin Flores.

The goal

Rather than showcasing ready-to-wear clothing, students were urged to push the boundaries of design by creating innovative silhouettes.

“It’s an avant-garde program, so it’s really a cutting-edge aesthetic,” apparel and textile design freshman Monica Fink said. “It’s easier to dumb down clothes as a product, but we really shoot for the stars.”

Apparel and textile design sophomore Sean Smith embraced the notion of avant-garde with his design, “New Clothes,” which required the model to wear a plastic and leather cylindrical garment.

“It’s inspired by the children’s story, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes,’” Smith said. “The piece is largely about nudity and putting on clothes you don’t fulfill the role for.”

Although she didn’t have any expectations going into the show, social relations and policy junior Rachel Lombardo said she was in awe of the designs presented.

“I wasn’t really sure, but I was pleasantly surprised by all the creative designs and technique and all the details,” Lombardo said.

The designers

For some, the fashion show was all about pushing the limits. For others, such as apparel and textile design junior Megan Ricica, the designs had emotional value as well.

Ricica’s design, “The Letter Dress,” was made up entirely of letters between her and her boyfriend, a member of the Michigan Army National Guard.

“My boyfriend was in the army for five months, so we corresponded through letters,” Ricica said. “We had to make an unconventional product, so I made the dress out of our letters. I tried to make it classic vintage, like the old military photos you see.”