The past and present collide for Fall Fashion Show

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Destiny Howard, a junior fashion design student, modeled a pink dress designed by Allison Martin.

Fashion design major Chyna Matheny stood next to Jessica Shaw, a design management major, in the fitting room before the Oct. 17 Fall Fashion Show.

Between the two, what they wore represented what the annual event was about – alumni and current student fashions.

Matheny, a sophomore, modeled fashion design alumna Melissa Blankenship’s coat and jumper ensemble. Blankenship ’98 won an industry trade show competition, the Bobbin Show, with this design.

Shaw modeled garments representing several years of Radford University fashion design.

The show featured attire from the Department of Design’s collection of recent and past student projects. Apparel from this body of work was selected for the show based on the student models and what worked with their physiques.

Models included fashion design, merchandising and design management majors from the department.

Two hours before the show, the models arrived and organized themselves for what was a fast-paced fashion showcase. They learned where to walk on the runway, how to put on makeup and prepared themselves for several quick garment changes. Fashion design majors also helped the models during their changes.

The Hurlburt Student Center Auditorium, the traditional location of the show, provided a more intimate experience than the spring Fashion Show.

“This is just a special show that we put on for Family Weekend that gives the audience a glimpse at what a smaller scale show looks like,” said Tammy Robinson, associate professor of design. “The spring show is an actual runway show while this show has the models walking among the audience, which gives them a closer look at the garments.”

In 30 minutes, the show featured between 30-35 fashions. Design professionals vetted many of the outfits during past spring fashion shows.

"It's an honor to have my piece even shown on the runway," said fashion design major Brittany Moore, a junior. "I plan on making my mark and leaving pieces behind when I graduate to be shown in the fall show 2017 like previous alumni have done."

This is the second show featuring her designs but her first fall fashion show as a designer.

"The Fall Fashion show is like a shadow box of amazing designs and memories that captures a continuous flow of inspiration here at RU," Moore said.

Oct 20, 2015