Apparel, Engineering, Horticulture Students Work on Fashion Show

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Darah Calico works on one of the designs to be featured at the Enclothe Fashion Show.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas students in apparel merchandising and product development, horticulture and electrical engineering are working together on production to make this year’s annual spring fashion show bigger and better than ever.

The apparel program in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences’ School of Human Environmental Sciences produces a fashion show each spring to showcase outfits created and designed by students. The Enclothe: Futuristic Floral Benefit Fashion Show is April 28 at 8 p.m. at the Fayetteville Town Center. General admission tickets are $35 and student tickets $15. Sponsorships and reserved seating are available. For more information, call AMPD at 479-575-5146 or email hesc@uark.edu. Proceeds from the show help fund student study tours.

“Based on the success of last year’s Metal & Shine Fashion Show, we are looking forward to again presenting work by our talented apparel students,” said instructor Stephanie Hubert. “The collaboration with electrical engineering and horticulture students adds to the anticipation, excitement and quality of the show.”

Students in Hubert’s Advanced Apparel Production class have been completing outfits this year to be modeled in the show.

Robert Saunders, assistant head of the Department of Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering, offered to participate in this year’s event, and students in his senior design class are helping enhance some of the garments with working lighting systems. They are also creating lighting for the show’s runway.

“We are excited to be a part of the spring fashion show,” said Saunders. “Electrical engineering students are designing and creating an interactive system of lights for the dresses and runway. These lights will change color as the models move around the space. The interdisciplinary nature of this process is an excellent opportunity for our students to practice communicating and collaborating with people from different disciplines. And we’re pretty sure all the effort will be worth it when the show begins and the stage lights up!”

Bumpers College students from the Horticulture Department’s Introduction to Floral Design class are developing a floral component for the show under the direction of instructor Shannon Mason.

“Students are designing and installing two large, dramatic floral design pieces for the show,” said Mason. “We are working with a perishable product so event-day installation is imperative. Assembly and installation, with a ticking clock for the event, provide a unique opportunity for my students to think on their feet and solve problems efficiently. The collaboration with other disciplines demonstrates the importance of communication and compromise, which I believe is a lesson that not only applies to floral design, electrical engineering or apparel, but to life as well. We are thrilled to be able to contribute to this creative event.”

Brittany Short Allen, a 2011 graduate of the apparel merchandising and product development program, is the featured guest designer. Allen is a pattern maker and computer aided designer for Understated Leather, which sells to Free People, Urban Outfitters and Revolve, and a fashion and CAD designer for a womenswear brand based in Los Angeles. Allen also created hew own brand, Brittany Nicole, and teaches fashion design at the Art Institute of Austin.

Allen’s designs have been featured in Women’s Wear Daily, and worn by celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the College of Engineering: The University of Arkansas College of Engineering is the largest engineering program in the state of Arkansas. Over the past decade, the college has experienced unprecedented growth. Undergraduate enrollment has doubled since 2007, and total enrollment in the college is now over 4,000 students. The College of Engineering offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in nine engineering fields, as well as incorporating distance learning and interdisciplinary programs. Faculty in the college conduct research in many key areas, including electronics, energy, healthcare logistics, nanotechnology, transportation and logistics.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.