Enclothe: Embody Fashion Show Highlights Student Creations at Crystal Bridges

Enclothe Committee

Enclothe: Embody is March 31 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville at 5:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Enclothe gives guests an up-close look at creations by U of A's apparel merchandising and product development students as the annual fashion show highlights all aspects of the program.

Garments created by students are the star of the show, but Enclothe: Embody also allow guests to see the business, sustainability and merchandising aspects of what students learn while designing garments.

Enclothe: Embody is Thursday, March 31, at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville (600 Museum Way). There are two shows, at 5:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Pre-show event times are 5 p.m. and 6:45 p.m., respectively, with required ticket. Doors open for general admission entrance 15 minutes prior to show times.

"Embody can mean a lot of things to a lot of people," said Olivia Thornton, student director for this year's event. "You can embody change, embody self-confidence, embody difference and even embody imagination. I think the reason we as a team love the title Enclothe: Embody so much is that it has the possibility of resonating with others in so many different ways."

Once again, students in the apparel program, which is part of the School of Human Environmental Sciences in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, are collaborating with other students across campus.

Students from the Department of Music's Chamber Quartet are providing pre-show live music. Musicians are Jayne Jostad, Grace Clark, Sidney Hudelson and Dayton Strick.

Students from the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design — Hannah Blang, Meredith Coan, Victoria Best and Lauren Dillon — are creating décor for the show, and students from the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology, led by Shane White, are handling video and photography.

In addition, apparel major Aubrey Costello is working with electrical engineering major Audra Beneux to showcase a garment designed by 2020 AMPD graduates Jacob Reynolds and Lily Beck and completed this year by Costello and Beneux.

White is also serving as emcee of this year's shows.

"The Enclothe student team is ecstatic for this year's show," said Thornton, an AMPD major from Wichita, Kansas. "I think there is a common feeling of excitement with a little anxiety mixed in - we are ready for the show and anxious for March 31. I am most excited to see our whole vision piece together. When I was given the position of student director last May, we were unsure if we would even be able to have a live in-person show. Never would I have imagined we would have an in-person show, with over 90 models walking down the runway, and at Crystal Bridges. The Enclothe team and all of our collaborators have worked extremely hard to make Enclothe: Embody the best show we have had. Excited is an understatement. I am beyond ready to see this show come to life!"

Tickets are available now online and can be purchased through March 29.

U of A student tickets are $25 for general admission, and students must present their student ID. General admission tickets are $45, reserved seating is $75 and includes entry to the pre-show event with live music and hors d'oeuvres, and priority reserved seating tickets are $100, and include reserved priority seating, the pre-show event with live music and hors d'oeuvres, and name recognition in the program.

If tickets remain, they will be available at the door the day of the shows for $50.

"During my junior year of high school, I was able to come to Fayetteville and see Enclothe, and immediately I was sold on the university along with the Enclothe fashion show," Thornton said. "Since seeing the show as a junior, I have been involved with the show as a volunteer; last year I was part of the social media committee on the student team, and now I am lucky enough to be the student director."

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. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.