Indiana State University Newsroom

A fashion show organized and presented by Indiana State University students accomplished what critics might argue songstress Meghan Trainor could not.

As "All about That Bass" played, models of all shapes, sizes, colors, genders, and attitudes walked across the Indiana Theater stage in a true celebration of diversity. The event also showcased the talents of students, local designers, and stylists, and the hard work put forth by textiles, apparel and merchandising students to making the show a success.

The annual event is a semester-long goal for students in the program and a community effort between the class and local vendors. Its goals are to entertain, educate the community about fashion, and to raise money for scholarships to be awarded to students in the program."Haute Fashion: The Kaleidoscope" took place on Nov. 14 and featured the designs of students, teachers, and local boutiques.

Last year, Jah' Shar Hardy participated as a model, but this year the sophomore from Fort Wayne decided to help behind the scenes.

"For being a model, you only had to show up for two days," she said. "But being a part of the class and the show, you have to do the footwork-you have to hand out fliers around the campus, set up a table in the commons, contact different vendors, different schools, count the invites, print the tickets, sell the tickets ... it's a lot of work."

Allie Hammond, a senior from Newburgh, worked as the project manager for the show, supervising the groups which specialized in providing clothes, models, advertisement, competitor-coordination, and various other necessities for the event. There was also a donations team that organized a raffle for prizes, which would also go toward scholarships.

Like Hardy, Hammond thought the hands-on experience of organizing the show helped her to grow significantly as a young professional. Hammond is also excited by how much the show has grown in its run.

Millie and Maude, Buckle, Carson's, Macy's, JC Penney, and David's Bridal were only a few of the big names that donated clothes to the show. Corporations donated the raffle prizes. The Indiana Theater's owners also made the downtown Terre Haute venue available to the students at no cost through a donation to the ISU Foundation. Hammond considered the sizeable contribution a measure of how far the show has come.

"Having it at the Indiana Theater is great," she said. "It's a really historic, great place that people are excited to go to, especially since it just re-opened recently. Having it there is good, obviously-having more students to put more garments in, having more people come, will really help it continue to grow."

For students interested in fashion, Hammond and Hardy recommend helping in the fashion show for hands-on experience. It is also important for students to "definitely join clubs, join Lights Camera Fashion, join FMA, and join as many fashion-based organizations on campus as possible," Hardy said. "Just go out and network and link up with other fashion students."Hardy also suggests attending open lab, Fridays 10 a.m.-2 p.m., to build sewing experience and receive suggestions for garments.

Meanwhile, Hammond encourages students in the program to get to know their teachers-a measure that is easy in such a small program, but can prove critical to success.

Contact: Cindy Crowder, associate professor, department of human resource development and performance technologies, College of Technology, Indiana State University, 812-237-2650 or cindy.crowder@indstate.edu

Writer: Kristen Kilker, media relations assistant, Office of Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University, 812-237-3773 or kkilker1@sycamores.indstate.edu