Student designers shine at Auburn’s 15th annual Fashion Event

A trio of senior designers Hope Lindley, Ella Keenan and Katie Beth Boston all played big roles in the success of The Fashion Event. All three are majoring in Apparel Design and Production Management (APDP) and helped elevate The Fashion Event with their own unique styles and collections.

Lindley, a native of Texas who comes from a family of mostly Texas A&M graduates, decided to be the first one from her family to attend Auburn in large part because of the apparel design program.

Her senior mini collection called “Lasso” highlighted her Texas roots while also showcasing her incredible creative and technical skills through her own personality.

“My collection is western themes that has western influence with a modern touch,” said Lindley. “I used a bunch of elements that you see in western clothing and put into outfits I liked. One of them I hand carved stamps and put them onto the denim and I hand painted. Each of the garments is named after an iconic woman from western history. It was a very personality driven collection, and the models were walking to the Eagles which is one of my favorite bands.”

Going through the apparel design program and The Fashion Event experience, Lindley said it really made her reflect and appreciate the work she’s been doing.

“In design, it’s really easy to compare yourself to other people because there are so many creative people around you, so I think I was learning to really stay true to myself, love what I was making and be really positive about it,” said Lindley. “I think a designer can be like ‘ugh that’s horrible,’ and I think through this I am learning to be encouraging to myself and love what I’m doing and love sharing that with other people.”

The Fashion Event is all about sharing that incredible design work with an audience that includes classmates, family members, faculty and staff members and anyone else interested in attending one of the spring semester’s most popular events.

Another important role of designers is making sure the 72 models are primed and ready through fittings, rehearsals, photography and videography sessions in the months leading up to the night of The Fashion Event.

“We are putting our models in poses, and we are making sure that the garments look perfect on them before they walk out,” said Keenan. “We are focused on the aesthetic of them versus the coordination of the show really. We also choose the order that they walk out in and some of the models are shared so they change between collections.”

Co-sponsored by the College of Human Sciences Department of Consumer and Design Sciences and the Auburn Apparel Merchandising and Design Association, The Fashion Event began in 2011 with a budget of just $300 but since then, it has only grown to be bigger and better each year. That included the move to the state-of-the-art Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center providing an upgraded venue the last two years.

While The Fashion Event only lasts a few hours, the behind-the-scenes work, attention to detail, execution and hands-on work is credited to students in The Fashion Event planning and management class. The year-long course consists of Consumer and Design Sciences (CADS) students who make up seven various committees who bring to life the mounted exhibits, e-portfolios, visual merchandising vignettes, live runway show and more. Selected students submit applications with their top two areas of expertise and are chosen to participate in elective, three-credit worth courses that spans two semesters and require countless hours of out-of-classroom work to plan The Fashion Event each year.