The Student Design Show is the annual highlight of our academic program and serves as a culmination of a year's work for Textile and Apparel students. The apparel items viewed during the show are created by students and approved by jury before being exhibited. The actual planning, promotion, choreography, music and execution of the show is also done entirely by students with the guidance of faculty. Since our program has a distinct focus on product development, the energy and creativity that goes into the annual design show is central to our program's mission!
 

The event itself is laden with symbolism about our Textile and Apparel program. Here is some of what the show represents:

As the name "Student Design Show" suggests, the apparel presented were student designs. The designs include an array of approaches, including vintage remakes, use of non-traditional materials, surface effect additions, and "designed from scratch" apparel and accessories. In addition to students manufacturing all the designs, the students manage the production of the entire enterprise from planning to final presentation. This monumental effort includes the students in the Fashion Promotion class and voluntary efforts from much of the rest of the textile and apparel majors and minors. Leadership of the event is comprised of students. Below is a photograph of the current year's design show directors:
 

One of the first steps for the leadership team was to help the wider TAPP student population collaborate in developing a show theme. Below you can see two photographs of students presenting their ideas to the TAPP Student Association. The theme selected was entitled: Unforgiven: The Seven Deadly Sins. The student designs were presented to the audience within the context of the design theme.

 

After selection of the designs during the jury process, the next stage involved model selections and fittings. Models were volunteers from the UNI student population, as well as friends and family members of TAPP students. Since, our students are designers, they do not typically model for the show; however, an occasional TAPP student may fill in as model if circumstances necessitate. Below, design show director Lacy Hooyer does initial fittings on her models:

 

Though show planning begins in Fall semester, the weekend of the show entails long hours of final preparations and rehearsals. The show weekend begins Friday afternoon, with final stage preparation and rehearsals for Saturday night's final show. Rehearsals continue Saturday afternoon too. Below are shown some highlight photographs of the Friday afternoon/night show preparations:

 

The show, on the Lang Hall auditorium stage, was presented in seven segments based on the theme of Seven Deadly Sins. The sins included: Envy, Sloth, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Vanity, and Wrath. To set the mood and create a transition between segments, a translucent screen located backstage was rear projected with colored lights varying with the sin. Also rear projected were silhouetted human forms acting out symbolic representations of each sin. The human silhouettes were created by local dancers and augmented with UNI students. While the silhouettes were performed, a voiced over poetic dialogue was recited. This dialogue, created by the show directors, elaborated on the nature of each sin. The transitional productions were quite literary and atmospheric. Below you can see a photograph of one of the transitional scenes:
 

Below are photographs of the designs as presented during the actual show. Underneath each design is given the name of the student designer. The photographs are clustered by the design show's themes of the Seven Deadly Sins. (click on the pictures for a larger image)