In college, one of the questions I constantly get asked by peers is “When are you showing your collection?” in reference to the annual UT Fashion Show. Unfortunately, I won’t ever be showing a collection, because 1) I’m not an apparel design major and 2) I don’t possess the raw creativity and courage it takes to be an apparel design major at UT. The amount of blood, sweat and tears (don’t forget lack of sleep!) that goes into designing a collection for the UT Fashion Show each year is overwhelming to think about, yet inspiring. Not only do the senior designers focus on their collection—they balance work and school, which includes every apparel design major’s favorite class, chemistry.
After four years of involvement with University Fashion Group‘s annual senior fashion show production, you begin to gain insight of how a large scale event like the UT Fashion Show progresses from start to finish. Joanna insisted I write the blog post for Transcend and I couldn’t be more excited to express how much finesse the fashion show will have this year. I joined University Fashion Group my second semester at UT (Spring 2010) and was initially taken aback at how organized and effective—yet creative and fun—the organization was. President Angeli Aguilera and myself met dressing backstage at a fashion show downtown that spring semester and I immediately knew upon meeting her that somehow fate would bring us closer, and it did—we’re now the head leaders behind the organization and the show date is looming over our head.
This year’s show is called Transcend. When asked what the word means in terms of the show, Aguilera said, “The word [Transcend] encapsulates everything we want our show to be: strong, bold and inspiring. I think it’s about transcending barriers and making this production bigger and better. Transcend does our criteria justice.”
Briana Johnson, a senior designer, tells me that her interest in design all began with an online Barbie Fashion Designer game when she was 7 years old. By the time she was 11, she began drawing croquis in Microsoft Paint in order to make outfits for all of her Barbie dolls. Now she’s moved past Barbies and says her inspiration behind her collection are “Egyptian kings and queens,” wanting to relate back to her heritage in Africa. “My clothes are heavily draped which none of the other designers are doing,” she continues.
While Briana was inspired by her heritage, senior designer Kinni Song has a different back story and inspiration for her collection. Inspired to design by watching Project Runway, Kinni tells me that her collection is inspired by collars and that she puts an emphasis on the back of her garments.
The senior designers are currently putting the finishing touches on their collections which will show at Transcend in a week.
Event information for Transcend:
What:
- UT Apparel Design End of the Year Fashion Show – Transcend
- Free admission
- Thurs. April 18th
- Runway show at 7:15pm
- Immersed in Cotton Room at 5:30pm
- Frank Erwin Center
- 1701 Red River St.
After Transcend is finished, you can head over to The Madison on 5th for the official after party! If you’re 21+, admission is free with a Transcend program, VIP ticket, Immersed in Cotton sticker or badge. 21 and under admission is $5. Come dance the night away with all of the designers!
Tyler Neal, photos by Joanna Wilkinson
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