FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – U of A student designs and creations will once again be on display during Enclothe: Universal Elements, the apparel merchandising and product development program’s annual spring fashion show.

The show is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 26, at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences. Joe Mercer, senior human resource manager at Walmart, and Antoinette Grajeda, producer and reporter at KUAF radio, are the emcees.

Undergraduates in the apparel merchandising and product development  program have been designing and creating garments this semester. The program is part of the School of Human Environmental Sciences in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science.

“We consider water, earth, fire, metal, space and wood as the universal elements,” said Gillian O’Brien, a member of the student communications team for the event. “We liked this theme because we knew designers could really manipulate it well, and it would translate well from a production standpoint.”

The apparel program is once again partnering with the U of A Department of Horticulture, Department of Electrical Engineering and, new this year, the Department of Agricultural Education, Communication and Technology. Engineering students are assisting with lighting on some of the garments while horticulture students are designing floral arrangements, wall displays and for the first time will have their own design on the runway. Agricultural communications students will be photographing the show for portfolios and other uses.

New this year is a cultural pop-up, which will showcase garments from around the world to show what they look like and how universal fashion is. So far, items representing Pakistan and Japan have been collected with others on the way.

Tickets are available online and can be purchased through April 26.

U of A student tickets are $15, good for 6:30 p.m. entry and standing room only; general admission $35, 6:30 p.m. entry with limited seating and standing room only; reserved $75, 5:30 p.m. entry for an exclusive “Meet the Designers” event with hors d’ouevres and a reserved seat; designer partner $100, 5:30 p.m. entry for the designers event, a reserved seat and name in the program; Couture Partner $500, 5:30 entry for the designers event, six reserved seats and names in the program; and Haute Couture Partner $1,500, 5:30 entry for the designers event, names in the program and private suite above the runway for 10 guests.

The “Meet the Designers” event is from 5:30-6:30 p.m. After, guests will be able to mingle and find their way to their seats along with student and general admission ticket holders entering at 6:30.

If tickets remain, general admission seats will be available at the door for $50.

For more information, email enclothe@uark.edu.

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 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 2.7 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.