On Friday, April 11, Auburn University will host the annual Fashion Event, co-sponsored by the College of Human Sciences Department of Consumer and Design Sciences and the Apparel Merchandising and Design Association.
The show will take place at the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center, with doors opening at 6 p.m. and the show beginning at 7 p.m. All 25 students in the Fashion Event Planning course have been working diligently since the beginning of the fall semester to make the show come to life.
The FEP class is held once a week in the fall semester and twice in the spring. Anslin Dryden, senior in apparel merchandising, is the director of the class.
There are seven different committees within the FEP class: creative, styling and modeling, decorations, fundraising and lookbook, public relations and social media, media and communications specialist.
Dryden oversees all committees and steps in where she is needed. She has an agenda for the class that she checks off each week before the event takes place.
“Everyone in the class is amazing at what they do, so I don’t have to worry about anyone in particular. The most challenging part of the event has been working alongside the Gouge Center to make sure everything works, because we usually did it at the coliseum,” Dryden said.
The show has been held in the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum in the past, so changing it up and planning a new layout has been one of Dryden’s most exciting challenges.
Models for The Fashion Event pose for a picture.
The Lookbook revolves around the entire show and is available for purchase at the event. It includes photos from their preview shoot, all of the clothing shown on the runway and even some details on the processes it took to make the garments.
“It’s a tangible book, like a coffee table book, you are able to flip through and that is mainly where you can see the designs. The theme this year is Behind the Seams, so we are trying to show then and where we are now by preview sketches with decorations and in the Lookbook,” Dyrden said.
Ellis Thompson, senior in apparel merchandising, is the president of the Apparel Merchandising and Design Association and is head of the decorations committee. She has been in the FEP class for the past two years.
“My favorite part of being the head of the decorations committee is hearing all my peers' different ideas for decorations and watching them come together when the event finally premieres,” Thompson said.
Since the theme of the fashion event this year is Behind the Seams, Thompson and her committee have been using a lot of different students' work to achieve their final decorative look. Thompson has many hands-on workers to help her reach her final goal for the look of the event.
Other fashion students not in the FEP class are able to volunteer to help set up the show and make sure everything runs smoothly. If a student volunteers to work alongside the FEP students during the event, they have the chance to apply for the FEP class for the upcoming semester.
Caitlin Finger, a senior in apparel design and the head of the creative committee, has also been working alongside Dryden to achieve their goal of creating a successful show.
“My favorite part is seeing it all come together and the excitement everyone feels about it being in a new place, and just watching all the hard work get rewarded by showing off their designs,” Finger said.
Finger and each of her classmates are excited about their new venue, which will provide attendees with an elevated viewing experience. The new venue will also bring a heightened sense of style to one of the top college-level fashion productions in the nation.
Tickets for The Fashion Event can be found on the Gouge Center website. Students can sign in with their Auburn credentials to receive discount ticket options.
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