Kent Fashion Week is held annually, and this year it was held May 5th, 6th and 7th at 157 Lounge in the downtown area of Kent, Ohio. Over the course of these three days, senior fashion design students showed off parts of their portfolios, and displayed what fashion meant to them over their many semesters here at Kent State. Keep reading for a total recap of Kent Fashion Week 2016!
“This event is by the students, for the students, so it’s cool that it’s little less formal in comparison to our other big production events like our main show in Rockwell. It’s more fun because families and friends get to come and see the senior’s work.”- William Perrine, a professor at the Kent fashion school.
At the event, friends and family saw the senior’s designs on models, who posed for about a half an hour on two separate platforms around the lounge. The first night was a single submission and portfolio night. Nights two and three of fashion week focused on senior student’s collections, where students had the chance to present their own original pieces.
Senior fashion design and fashion merchandising major, Christina Franchini’s portfolio showcased footwear, and she also submitted two pieces into the single submission.
Franchini chose shoes to be her main focus because she feels everyone has a personal connection with footwear:
“No matter what your body size is, if you’re a 000 or 18, shoes will always fit and make your outfit special.”
Her inspiration for the first part of her portfolio came from a vision of a poppy field, while the second part came from Cascais, Portugal, where she traveled and fell in love with the culture.
Franchini incorporated the vision into her shoes, with the blues and unique patterns.
To Franchini, fashion week is more than just a get together.
“This event displays us and describes us in a new light. This is what college is to us; it’s not drinking or Greek life, it’s all the hard work we poured from ourselves into our work. It’s very personal.” – Franchini
Senior Elise Schliffka was among the fashion design students, and her childhood stemmed her inspiration.
“I used to swim when I was younger, so I’m really passionate about water. I looked at the different elements of water and kind of compared it to a person’s emotions.”
She took icebreaking and molding to show how a person breaks down in life, but then how they pull themselves back together. Her collection represents a “slow evolution” of that.
Although these seniors had different inspirations for their designs, one thing stands out for their love of fashion: the creativity it gives them.
“Fashion makes me be creative and really dig down. It’s kind of taken me awhile to really feel my emotion and make it come out in my work, but I think fashion has really given me a creative outlet and I love that you can show that in your art.” – Elise Schliffka
Whether it be shoes or water, fashion gives that ability to a designer to create something bigger than themselves. As the seniors’ time comes to an end at Kent State, the messages and art they created will always be remembered.
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