In front of flashing bulbs, watchful judges and thousands of fans, 12 young designers saw several sleepless months’ worth of work come to fruition. The designers selected for the 2010 Art to Wear fashion show showed no shortage of inspiration, drawing on biker gangs, Frankenstein and fast food for their original pieces.
Kasi Wetherington, a sophomore in biochemistry, said her favorite line of the show belonged to Kendal Leonard, who created a series of bright, bold dresses shaped like spring flowers.
“There was a good combination of good runway stuff and things I would wear and I would see people wearing,” Weatherington said.
Ian Thomas, a freshman in art and design, said he found the show “inspiring” but he thought the designers played it too safe.
“I kind of wished it could have been a little more out there,” Thomas said. “I wished they had pushed the boundaries as far as they would go. It seemed like they didn’t quite do that this year.”
There was one line that pushed the envelope and pleased both observers and judges was that of Kirk Smith, a senior in food science.
Smith earned a standing ovation from the crowd and the top prize – a scholarship worth $500. Smith said he spent the past six months working feverishly on his clothes, which featured an array of wrappers from foods popular with college students. He created a minidress made from Natural Light cans, a robot made from pizza boxes and an intricate, flounced pink wedding dress made entirely from Jimmy John’s wrappers, among other things.
Smith was one of few students outside of the College of Design to be featured in Art to Wear.
“I cannot believe I came in here dry and won,” Smith said. “I have no idea what to think right now. I’m just floored by the feeling.”
Though long and occasionally frustrating, Smith’s experience in Art to Wear may have altered his career plan for the better.
“This has very quickly changed my perspective on what I should do for the rest of my life,” Smith said.
For her line, entitled “Marionettes in Modern Times,” Keely Cansler, a senior in textile technology and art and design, employed her cousin Matthew, who is in elementary school, to cut the imaginary strings off a “marionette” model. Cansler said she decided to change it up and make the puppeteer much smaller than his puppet.
“When I was in Prague, I saw marionettes everywhere, ” Cansler said. “It just kind of jumped out at me and I went for it.”
Cansler knitted her dresses with a machine and dyed every piece by hand five days a week for many months. She said she received a brief scare when the large, hooped skirt one of her models wore tripped her up, but other than that, the show went on without a hitch.
“It was very fast. All that work for five minutes,” Cansler said. “But I loved the way it turned out.”
Kelly Gilliam, an alumna, modeled a dress from Lauren Dana Boynton’s mother nature-inspired line. Though Gilliam graduated two years ago, Boynton remembered her from when she walked for another designer last year and asked her back.
“I’ll always keep coming back as long as I’m invited,” Gilliam said.
This was the fourth year Gilliam has been involved with Art to Wear. Though she said every year is different, this year she saw a familiar fervor in the designers who poured themselves into their craft.
“There’s definitely a lot of talent. Every design was well thought-out,” Gilliam said. “You could tell everyone put a lot of heart into it.”
