© NCSU Student Media 2012
Sketches by Sarah Canon, a sophomore in art and design, hang on an idea board for her Art to Wear 2012 collection. Her designs emphasize classic silhouettes while focusing on modern material. Photo by Charlle Harless
Have you ever seen someone wearing an outfit that features 16-millimeter film? How about an outfit modeled after the tissues in your body or one designed with that person’s psychological emotions in mind? That is exactly what you might find from the designers participating in the Art to Wear fashion show.
The idea started 11 years ago in a design class taught by Vita Plume. During the class, a few students were designing clothes to fulfill their project guidelines, and Plume realized they could have their own fashion show—so they did. The first year’s show was fairly small, but was a fashion show nonetheless, according to Plume. The show quickly took off, gaining fans every year and moving to different locations as the audience became larger.
“Every year [Art to Wear] is a little bit different,” Plume said. “And every year it gets a little bit bigger, but the energy and the creativity and the inventiveness comes from these amazing students.”
According to Plume, who only acts as an advisor, the event is, and has always been, run and produced by students.
This year Danica Dewell and Rebecca Walker are co-directing the event. Dewell is a senior in art and design and Walker is an Anni Albers Scholar majoring in textile technology and art and design.
Walker has attended the Art to Wear fashion show since her freshman year of high school. Since this is a student-produced event, the directors have multiple responsibilities. The directors head 10 to 15 committees that take care of every aspect of the show, according to Walker. In addition, directors must do fundraising, manage emails and communicate with designers. The big challenge this year is producing an event for an estimated 5,000 people.
The directors are also trying to make the event more professional, Walker said. With the help of Raymond Nadeau , a well-known expert in marketing and advertising, the coordinators were able to learn a few things about promoting the event. Nadeau is a College of Design graduate and keeps in contact with faculty.
In order to become a designer for the fashion show, applicants must go through a rigorous selection process. According to Plume, applicants must create two pieces and write a concept statement, outlining the major artistic theme in the applicant’s proposed collection. The two outfits are reviewed by a jury consisting of John Mcilwee , director of the Stewart Theater, Martha Parks, owner of Soho in Cameron Village and Tracey Asai , owner of Tracey Asai designs in New York City.
Applicants are graded on craftsmanship, creative innovation, meeting the concept, quality of construction, relationship of form and material to aesthetic goals and concepts and overall impression. After all the applications are graded, students receive comments from the judges so they can take something away from the experience, according to Plume.
The event will be held in Reynolds Coliseum April 24 at 7 p.m . The College of Design encourages paying for a ground-floor seat to support the event, but University I.D . holders get in upstairs for free. The general public can sit upstairs for $5. There will be a preshow, featuring great work for some of the designers who did not make it into the show, according to Plume. There will also be static sculptures made by students in Reynolds. These static sculptures, along with garments, made by College of Design students are eligible for Cotton Inc.’s “Cotton Challenge,” which offers a prize for students making their pieces with at least 60 percent cotton, according to Plume. Other than that, there are no prizes at Art to Wear. When there is no prize, every designer is a winner. Being able to show your pieces on the runway is the grand prize, Plume said.
After the event, attendees can pick up a notecard , which will show where the different designers are on Hillsborough Street. This is so anyone can meet with the designers and see the garments up close, according to Plume.
If you are interested in seeing creativity and inventiveness from both the College of Design and the College of Textiles, Plume and all the students involved with Art to Wear encourage students to go to the show.