To some students at Ball State, the fashion industry is a lot more than just a needle pulling thread.
Thirteen students had their work featured in Fashion Design Society (FDS) annual fashion show at 3 p.m. Saturday on the first floor of the Applied Technology building. The theme was Fashion Faerie Tale, which centered around nature and fairies. Flower crowns were sold to anyone attending to add to the show’s theme.
Junior and apparel design and fashion merchandising major Levi Portillo, president of FDS, said the FDS fashion show is a way for fashion students to show their work and talents within their field.
“For example, some of the students actually want to run fashion shows in the future, and a lot of people don’t understand that a lot of money goes into it and there’s a lot of planning and communications that goes into it. So, it’s a project that allows them to do that,” Portillo said. “Ultimately it’s a way for fashion students of whatever background to develop and showcase their work.”
Portillo said fashion is often “misunderstood” due to its decorative nature, but it’s also a business.
“It makes me really happy to see that they have this inner excitement for this industry and for this art, because it is an art,” Portillo said. “It keeps me going to see my ladies growing into wonderful professionals and women.”
Freshman apparel design major Meghan Batka worked backstage for the FDS fashion show, and said a lot of hard work and creativity is sewn into each design.
“It’s a bunch of creative people coming together and presenting their creativity and ideas and I think it’s something that’s really inspiring. I’m really excited to see all of it come together,” Batka said.
Sophomore fashion merchandising and apparel design major Megan Hall, an executive member of FDS, said students working on the fashion show get into four groups: music and technology, backstage, decor and public relations. Then, students split off into each group and plan the show accordingly.
While the show is hosted by FDS, Hall said other majors can be involved.
“We’re definitely open for other majors and minors to come in,” Hall said. You don’t have to be a fashion major to do things we do, like we have PR and social media and music and tech and all of that would be a good thing for them to work on if they were in that major or if they were into that. We want to incorporate more of campus and more of the students.”
[“Source-ballstatedaily”]