Fashion Footage

The annual University of Texas Fashion Show, hosted by the University Fashion Group, drew more than 5,000 people to the Frank Erwin Center to see the designs of senior textiles and apparel majors on April 21.

Innovation, the theme of this year's show, required the designers to think in terms of developing technology and how they might link this idea with their collections, said University Fashion Group president Valerie Davila.

"Technology is, of course, really up and coming and so they're focusing on including that in their designs," she said. "They're incorporating those things into the designs to show that they're moving along with the industry."

The show aims to allow students to display their collections in front of professionals in the fashion industry. This better enables the students to get jobs and internships following graduation.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for the seniors because it gives us a chance to display what we can really do," said textiles and apparel senior Kalgari Ferris. "If nothing else, it's great publicity for seniors." Ferris won Best Technical Design for her collections.

Prior to the show, attendees viewed other assignments made by the students at an exposition held in the Lone Star Room. Some of the displayed items included scaled down versions of designs fitted onto smaller mannequins, exercises with color wheels and sketches. The designers also had the opportunity to mingle with friends and family before the show began.

Although technical difficulties with the live webcast delayed the show for 20 minutes, the rest of the show proceeded without a hitch.

The show opened with several UT themed dresses, a separate assignment taken on by a handful of the seniors. The University Co-Op currently sells several of the designs.

The show then featured each of the seniors' individual collections, which were inspired by a range of different things, such as 1950s beachwear or wine country style.

After the collections were shown, the students who chose to create evening gowns displayed their garments. The show finished with a display of wedding gowns.

Designers received awards in a variety of categories, such as for Best Collection, Most Marketable, Most Creative, among several others. Colton Gerard won the award for Best Collection while Christopher Pham won honorable mention.

"I was actually really surprised. I didn't think I'd be up for any of the best collection awards," Pham said. "They said that best collection was supposed to encompass all the other [categories], so I was really surprised that the judges considered my collection to be so well rounded."

In addition to helping students, Pham said the show is an opportunity to emphasize Texas' rising position in the fashion industry.

"You really get a feel that there's this momentum building in Texas for fashion," he said.

Audience members enjoyed the show. Most who attended agreed that they would probably come to see the show again in the future, said UT graduate student Courtney Jeffries.

"I thought [the show] was awesome," she said. "It was really inspiring."