ENCLOTHE: En Soiree Fashion Show to Feature Brittany Allen and New AMPD Collection

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ENCLOTHE, the annual fashion show featuring garments created by U of A apparel students, is slated for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville on April 26 with Project Runway star Brittany Allen hosting.

ENCLOTHE: En Soiree is set for two shows at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The En Soiree theme is inspired by a muted maximalist dinner party and will include an exhibit curated from the AMPD collection donated by Reed Greenwood and Margaret Whillock.

This year's emcee is Allen, a two-time competitor on Bravo TV's Project Runway and an alumna of the program. Allen finished in the top six during the 2020 Season 18 competition and was a finalist during the Project Runway: All-Stars contest in 2023.

Every garment featured in the show has been made this semester by students in the apparel merchandising and product development program, which is part of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's School of Human Environmental Sciences.

The garments and students who designed them are the stars of the night, but the event highlights all aspects of the program. Guests also learn about the business, sustainability and merchandising aspects of what students learn while designing their items.

Tickets are $75 for priority reserved seating (designated Head of the Table), $55 general admission (invited guest) and $25 for students. Head of Table tickets include preferred seating and cocktail hour access to the En Soiree dinner party. As part of a collaboration with the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center, tickets for the 5 p.m. show are being offered for the study center's families at $25 per parent (kid's table). Tickets are available online now.

If tickets remain, a limited number will be available at the door the day of the shows: $85 for Heads of the Table and $60 for invited guests.

"This year's Enclothe team is the biggest and most ambitious yet," said AMPD teaching assistant professor Sarah Hixson. "I am most excited to see the outcomes with the show's new website, the AMPD collection, and the inclusion of even more diverse designs and awards. The students are hoping to showcase the 3-D work in our program more prominently, too. Every year, the show gets better."

Students participating in the shows are in the Fashion Show Theory and Production with Hixon and/or Advanced Apparel Production with senior instructor Stephanie Hubert.

Student producers include Maya Lester, logistics; Mia Freedman, creative; and Siana King, engagement. They oversee a team of 55 students along with six directors: Caroline Horne, collaborator; David Clark, aesthetic; Caroline Spendio, outreach; Kadence Trosper, archive; Carleigh Foreman, program; and Celeste Falgoust, venue.

The apparel program is once again collaborating with other students and academic units across campus.

Show and student design partners include students and representatives from Bumpers College's programs and departments of agricultural education, communications and technology; horticulture; human development and family sciences; human nutrition and dietetics; and the Jean Tyson Child Development Student Center; Fulbright College's departments of African & American Studies; Biological Sciences; the School of Art; Theatre; and Gender Studies; College of Education and Health Professions Department of Occupational Therapy; Walton College of Business; College of Engineering's Department of Electrical Engineering; and other campus groups and agencies, including the Pat Walker Health Center, Relationship Violence Center, the Multicultural Center, Razorback Athletics and the Office for Sustainability.

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 and Economic Development News.