College fashion hits runway

A fashion show that incorporates almost all areas of apparel might seem difficult to achieve, but it's certainly not impossible, as the Apparel Merchandising Organization proved this past Thursday night. The annual AMO fashion show combined trendy street wear, sports and casual attire, formal evening looks and ballet costumes as a part of its student-organized show. The looks on the runway represented all aspects of collegiate fashion, along with unique designs constructed by students majoring in fashion design and costume construction technology.\nA raffle that consisted of more than $13,000 worth of prizes set the night off to a good start. A new North Face jacket, hats, sandals and leather bags for spring were some of the items won by audience members. Ticket holders who didn't get called had the opportunity to claim extra prizes after the raffle. Though the prizes pleased the crowd, the real excitement began when the lights went down and the music went up. The IU Essence Dance Team hit the floor and jump-started the show by snagging the audience's attention with its funky dance moves and hot beats.\n"I think the dancers were really great," said the show's Assistant Director Jamie Held. "They really pumped up the audience."\n Scene I was designated to corsets, which were designed by the Costume Consturction Technology students. The student designers demonstrated there's more than one way of looking at a corset and a lot of room for adding personal taste. Each corset differed in pattern, color and shape. Pink trim was popular, as were open backs with elaborate ribbon holding them together. Ruffles, leather, chiffon, beads and satin were materials that added edginess and flavor to the corsets.\nThe next scene was centered on the final projects of CCT students. Many of the students have never premiered their lines, and some were even featured in the show modeling their own lines. Some of the student designs included elaborate evening wear inspired by each designer's personal taste. The evening attire included satin gold and purple dresses detailed with colored beads and ribbon. Lisa Dininger, a senior majoring in apparel merchandising and the fashion show coordinator, said she was happy with the scene, and it was different than in previous years. \n"I was really pleased with everything. It was the first time that this class had their designs displayed," said Dininger. "This year there was a lot more CCT students' designs."\nScene III was the tutu segment and also featured designs by the CCT students. Much like the corset scene, students spiced up standard tutus and turned them into stylish hip looks. This scene provided a soft feminine feel as well as a harder look, not often associated with tutus. Melissa Kurlan, a senior majoring in apparel merchandising, went a different route with the construction of her tutu with her New York-inspired tutu. \n"I wanted to do something unique," said Kurlan, who created a tutu and leotard with New York Yankees and N.Y. Police Department patches on the corset. \nKurlan said she wanted to create something unique that would add style to the runway. \n"Fashion is about making new styles by changing what's already there. I thought that adding hip patchwork would do the trick," Kurlan said. \nLocal retailer J.L. Waters dressed the men who appeared in Scene IV. The look for this segment was sports and casual. The informal yet fashionable styles were achieved with brands such as North Face, Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear and Beneficial & Nalgene.\nSpring fever was the theme for Scene V. Clothes from Kirkwood Avenue's Cha Cha's looked fresh and funky in colorful patterns. Skirts were short and the heels were high on the models that strutted down the runway. \nJR Stallsmith dressed men in designer suits for the next scene. Striped collared shirts were favored, and some even came with striped cuffs in different colors. Like the girls, men wore colorful ensembles that provided an aura of spring .\nThe finale gave the crowd one last glance of the various styles and elaborate designs incorporated into each scene. The tutus and corsets drew the most applause from the audience. AMO members were pleased with the outcome of the show. \nHarper Slavin, a sophomore majoring in apparel merchandisings was happy with the turn out of the fashion show.\n"It was the perfect collaboration of all types of dress. I don't know how, but they did it. Not everyone could produce a show that includes sportswear with tutus, and it makes sense." \n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Zalkin at mzalkin@indiana.edu.