“Fashion Fete” shows off senior fashion designs
Student designers, models show off senior fashion designs at "Fashion Fete"
Saturday April 17, 2018
Behind the stage was a flurry of commotion, with models hastily tweaking hairdos, adjusting makeup, and swapping out garments for their chance to strut across the catwalk and show off a collection of senior fashion design garments that drew consistent cheers from an enthusiastic audience.
The "Fashion Fete Fashion Show" is an annual event that happens each spring in the Department of Design. The event is a juried program where senior students are able to submit their work for consideration in the show. The process is competitive, and not all students are selected to showcase their work.
Behind-the-scenes at "Fashion Fete"
Fashion shows cannot happen without models, and the event gives Radford students from all walks of life an opportunity to try their hand in fashion modeling. Guy Smith, a junior in the graphic design program and one of the few male models participating in the event, was excited about being part of the program. “This is literally my first time modeling. I thought I would step out and try something new,” said Smith.
Fashion Fete is also an important fundraising event for the Department of Design. Each year a charity dinner is held prior to the show where parents, faculty, university administrators and arts patrons can mingle, socialize, and talk fashion for $75 each. The cost includes admission to the fashion show, which is the highlight of the event. Dr. Holly Cline, Chair of the Department of Design, has been involved in coordinating the event for over a decade. “The fashion fete dinner, raises money for our departmental speaker series,” said Cline. “Bringing speakers from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds is a very important part of exposing our students to ideas and designers both regionally and from across the globe.”
Top student designers in the fashion show received awards and recognition for their work. The award winners were:
Jessica Watson: Day Wear
Dani Briggs: Resort Wear
Jaimi Evans: Career Wear
Mashail Al Ghamdi: Semi-formal Wear
Mashail Al Ghamdi: Formal Wear
Mashail Al Ghamdi: Design of the Year
Jaimi Evans: Senior Collection
Mashail Al Ghamdi: Senior Designer of the Year