Fashion Fete to showcase senior design talent
The students and faculty of Radford University's Department of Design are diligently working to put on the Fashion Fete Fashion Show, which will take place at 8:00 p.m. in Bondurant Auditorium, Preston Hall on March 30, 2019. This annual fashion event takes place every spring as a way to highlight works by senior fashion design students. The show has been a tradition at Radford for over 18 years.
Dr. Farrell Doss, Professor of Design, is one of the main coordinators of the event. According to Doss, preparations for Fashion Fete are a yearlong process, but the bulk of the work begins in February as final preparations begin.
Doss said that one of the hardest parts of putting the show together is coordinating the numerous individuals involved in its creation. “Hard work and planning play a lot into the success of the show. There are so many different pieces moving at different paces and in different directions. It is absolute chaos behind the scenes, but the audience never sees that,” said Doss.
Dr. Holly Cline, Chair of the Department of Design, said that students and faculty both enjoy putting on the fashion show. Students are motivated to showcase their design work, and the intensity of preparation activities motivates them to put on a great show for the audience. According to Cline, the fashion show is sponsored by a student organization called The Fashion Society.
Collections displayed in Fashion Fete are primarily created by current seniors, but underclassmen also have opportunities to help backstage, display garments or even model during the show. Fashion items and works displayed by underclassmen are selected through a juried process.
Junior fashion design major Kevin Reid said that seeing his garments on the runway is a dream come true. “It’s a realization that my designs have moved from a piece of paper to seeing a finished, cloth product on an actual person,” said Reid.
Talaya Millner, a senior in the Fashion Design track, said that she didn’t even know how to sew when she initially joined the program and that she has learned a lot through her studies. “It’s exciting getting to see all your hard work pay off,” said Millner.
An annual fundraising dinner takes place each year prior to the start of the show. The dinner, which takes place at 5:30 p.m. on March 30 at the Scartelli Atrium in the Covington Center, is hosted and sponsored by the Department of Design. “The cost is $75 per person and the all of the proceeds are put into the departmental speaker fund. Those attending the fundraising dinner get a meal and VIP seats at the fashion show,” said Cline.
Anyone interested in purchasing tickets for the Fashion Fete Fashion Show or the fundraising dinner should contact the Department of Design at 540-831-5386. Tickets for the fashion show are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.