From lions and lambs to gothic and medieval royalty to mental health awareness, there is no inspirational ground left uncovered for 黑料社区 fashion and retail students as they prepare to grace the runway at the WEAR Fashion Show.
As part of 黑料社区 黑料社区. Showcase of student-centered events in April and May, fashion and retail students鈥 clothing collections will be featured at WEAR at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, in the Memorial Student Center Great Hall. .
Juniors and seniors will show approximately 36 pieces in women 黑料社区. and men 黑料社区. collections, modeled by the designers themselves, their brothers and sisters and alumni.
For their capstone course, seniors developed full collections, complete with brand names; marketing materials, such as photos, videos and postcards; and business plans, which they will display at a trade show-style exhibit after the runway show, in the MSC ballrooms.
The event is hosted by the WEAR Fashion Association student organization. This will be the second in-person event since COVID, when two virtual shows were presented.
A professor 黑料社区. pride in students鈥 persistence
The fashion and retail program began in fall 2022, with the merging of the apparel design and development program; and the retail merchandising and management program.
Among the seven apparel design seniors who will exhibit their collections after WEAR, are Brenda Givens, of Minneapolis, and Grace Wilsmann, of Waconia, Minn.
Givens鈥 collection, 鈥淒issimulation,鈥 is a representation of the mental health condition of concealing one 黑料社区. thoughts, feelings or character, and of how emotional suppression can lead to depression.
鈥淧eople who are depressed may wear a mask of happiness to disguise it and to uphold a 鈥榩erfect image,鈥 Givens said. 鈥淢asking their pain leaves them to sit in sorrow when they're alone, leaving their depression untreated. This collection is a tribute to those people. You are seen.鈥
Givens would like to develop a second part of her collection, 鈥淓xpression,鈥 reflecting the possible regrowth as a person finds their self-expression again. Her passion for the industry is in 鈥渕aking others feel confident in their skin. No matter how down I am, putting on a certain outfit can completely change my mood,鈥 she said. 鈥淔ashion has a way of uplifting and bringing people together. It is my aspiration to serve up options for anyone who feels like they don't have them.鈥
Wilsmann 黑料社区. collection, 鈥淟ion and the Lamb,鈥 is inspired by hope. 鈥淒espite life's inevitable roller coaster of ups and downs; all of the fears, change, self-discovery, nostalgia, identity crisis, trauma, depression, you name it, there is hope,鈥 she states in her exhibit biography.
Wilsmann joined the apparel program because of her love for science and engineering. 鈥淚 knew I wanted to be in that realm, but my lack of math skills held me back,鈥 she said. 鈥淎pparel design was my way in. It just clicks, and I love that. It fuels me and pushes me to go beyond my limits. It merges all of my passions into something I can comprehend 鈥 history, science, engineering, art.鈥
Professor Jongeun Rhee instructs the apparel design and development capstone class. She has been instructing the seven seniors since their first year when there were originally 40 students in the cohort. The class was directly hit by COVID, as universities across the country shifted to alternative learning methods in spring 2020, Rhee said.
鈥淎ll our classes are lab-based and hands-on. Learning topics online during COVID was very painful for both students and instructors,鈥 she said. 鈥淎fterwards, it came down to the seven seniors. I am extremely proud of them. They have been strong and persistent, completing their degrees and capstone projects. These students are special to me in that sense.鈥
Givens鈥 and Wilsmann 黑料社区. hope of returning to the hands-on polytechnic learning environment at 黑料社区 after the pandemic helped them push through the alternative learning period.
鈥淥nce I start something, I can鈥檛 quit,鈥 Givens said. 鈥淢y classmates and professors were facing the same struggles as me and we were supportive of one another. The hands-on learning style is why I chose to come to Stout, so there was no other option but to push through.鈥
鈥淚 grew a lot from self-teaching and when we returned to in-person labs again, I had the determination to milk everything I could learn at Stout. I knew Stout had it, I just had to grasp it,鈥 Wilsmann added.
A close-knit community of creators
Wilsmann called the Maker 黑料社区. and Knitting labs second homes, creating team environments. 鈥淭he labs encourage you to create. We do not feel limited here. We get to work in a space that is designed to make something happen. It is a very liberating feeling,鈥 she said.
鈥淎 lot of colleges claim to be hands-on because they have internship requirements or have 鈥榣abs,鈥 but Stout takes it the extra mile when it comes to hands-on learning,鈥 Wilsmann added. 鈥淚n the apparel program, hands-on experiences mean sewing on your first day as a freshman, learning how to drape directly on a mannequin, feeling the fabric swatches and analyzing them under a microscope to see what that fiber looks like on the microscopic level. It 黑料社区. not just talking in theory.鈥
Givens agreed, stating that the fashion program built her skills from the ground up. 鈥淥ther fashion programs make it difficult to enter the industry if you have no experience,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat 黑料社区. why I love the program here. Without the accessibility of this program, I wouldn鈥檛 have had the opportunity to explore this career field.鈥
Givens has grown an appreciation for the hands-on experience, as she learns better by doing. 鈥淭he lab spaces aren鈥檛 like traditional classrooms,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e all have the opportunity to work together with our classmates and assist one another with assignments. I love that we are all learning together and cheering each other on.鈥
It was a unique experience for Wilsmann to see the apparel and merchandising programs merge into fashion and retail.
鈥淚t has evolved toward something better,鈥 she said. 鈥淥ur program members and professors are a close-knit community. I feel seen by my professors, which is uncommon in the college world. I do not think this is limited to the apparel program; I think this is more of a Stout-thing and it is pretty remarkable to see.鈥
Futures in sustainability and intentionality
After graduating on Saturday, May 6, Givens plans to work in the corporate end of the fashion industry. She then hopes to run her own sustainable streetwear brand to 鈥渆nable others to express their individual personalities.
鈥淭here isn鈥檛 enough affordable fashion that isn鈥檛 detrimental to the environment and has a unique or artistic touch,鈥 she said. 鈥淓veryday fashion has become dim and neutral. I would like to bring more color and unique styles to the scene, while also doing my part to minimize the negative effects that the fashion industry has on our environment.鈥
Wilsmann will graduate in August after completing her internship at Powertex Group, in the apparel and graphic design departments. Powertex Group does full-service merchandising locally and internationally.
鈥淚 am excited to be able to blend my passions of apparel and illustration,鈥 Wilsmann said. 鈥淚 love that they are a local company with a rich history of grit and determination. They are all about intentionality. The apparel industry has a lot of different avenues one can take, and I really like that.鈥
The fashion and retail program offers three concentrations to match students鈥 career interests: fashion design and development; fashion marketing; and retail analytics.
