The African American Textile Society (AATS) put on the twelfth annual fashion expose Thursday at 7 p.m. in Stewart Theatre.  The expose featured many up-and-coming young designers from the University, showcasing many varied collections.

Gabriel Ross, a senior in arts applications, was the evening’s emcee. Ross began the show by welcoming everyone and introducing the judges, which included Cynthia Istook and Faye Gibson, professors in textile and apparel management at the College of Textiles. Judges from outside the University included Julie Mullin, owner of Fiber Active Organics, Jacob Whisnant, recruiter for Abercrombie and Fitch, and Deborah Glabicki, fashion editor for Social magazine.   

A total of 10 designers showed nine collections.

Grace Beal, a senior in textile and apparel management, designed a collection inspired by 1950s silhouettes. The dresses were fitted in the bodice, held in at the waist by a sash, and then flared out into a full skirt that ended above the knees. Models wore their hair off their face, held in place with a headband that complemented the collection’s motif of pink and green circles.

Items from Beal’s collection included a green off-the-shoulder dress with a white sash and white circles in the back, and a white dress with a pink sash and green tulle overlay in the skirt.

Claire Stanhope and Brittany Erb, seniors in textile and apparel management, teamed up to work on one collection.

“We’re best friends with similar taste in fashion, and we feed off each other,” Stanhope said.

The collection designed by Stanhope and Erb was titled “Les temps sont durs pour les reveurs”, translated as “times are hard for dreamers.” The summation of their collection in the program was composed primarily of words beginning with the letter “f.”

“We wanted to leave the interpretation of the line up to the audience,” Erb said. “It was the most creative way of summing up our inspiration.”

Their collection was mainly comprised of black dresses interspersed at certain places with floral patterns. Notable pieces included a black strapless dress with tiers of red flowers and green leaves against a black background, and a black strapless dress with floral fabric fanning out of the bodice and cascading down the side of the skirt. Models accessorized with hippie headbands adorned with oversize rosettes, and all carried teacups in the manner of waitresses.

The show put on by Jessica Fulks, a senior in textile and apparel management, involved people other than models. Two dancers at each side of the curtain interacted with the model waiting in the middle, reaching toward them, while the model pushed them off.

Fulks said she used dancers from Dance Visions, and that they had only practiced the day of the show. Fulks said she had talked about what she wanted earlier, and they pulled it off.

When out of the clutch of the preying dancers, the models strutted down the catwalk to Dynasty’s “I Don’t Wanna Be a Freak,” with many busting a move at the end of the runway nearest the audience.    

During the two intermissions, poets Jared Fontaine, Ayesha Atkinson and Sean Ingram performed, and Tashonda Haugabrook’s band performed two songs to keep the audience engaged.

The awards were given out at the end of the program. Fulks swept the awards, nabbing Audience Favorite, Best in Show, and second place. The team of Stanhope and Erb won third place, and Ray won first place.    

“I didn’t expect to win [an award], since I had finished making my clothes in a week and a half, and really didn’t expect anything,” Fulks said.

Erb shares Folks’ sentiments.

 ”It was very surprising to win [an award], since there were a lot of great designers,” Erb said.

Audience members were impressed with the show.

Michael Morgan came from Raleigh to see his daughter, who was modeling in the show. Morgan also knew some of the other models from Black Finesse, a troupe in which his daughter models.

“The fashions were stunning, and the creativity was very impressive. The student designers have a great future, considering the vast array of designs on display,” Morgan said.

Lamar Crawford, a senior in biochemistry, said it was very interesting to see how others express themselves through fashion, and that it says a lot about them.

“It was worlds colliding, but all for the love of fashion,” Crawford said.

Crawford said he liked one jacket Fulks designed so much that he has already put in a request for it.  

Those involved with the show were also pleased with how it turned out.

Ross said he had a lot of material planned, but the show needed to run within a certain timeframe. Ross said it helped to get a feel of the audience as he performed.

“My material was about 80 percent improv, and 20 percent planned,” Ross said.

“This was the major project of the semester, which we started planning in December, so I’m really relieved that’s finally over,” Alexis Avent, a junior in textile and apparel management and vice president of AATS, said. Avent’s duties included managing the entertainment, booking the host, poets and band.

Joanna Reynolds, a senior in textile and apparel management and historian for AATS, said her job was to make sure everybody was in their places backstage and ready to be called when needed. Reynolds did not get to see the majority of the show since she was organizing people backstage.

“It’s supposed to be hectic backstage, but as long as it looked good for the audience, that’s all that matters,” Reynolds said.