Art on the Catwalk

VCU fashion students put their talents on display at this weekend’s annual juried fashion show at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

This weekend, high-stepping models will march down a fashion runway at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, donning designs that showcase the impressive talents and capabilities of students in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising. Taking place Sunday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m., VCU’s annual juried fashion show features the top 100 garments created by upperclassmen fashion design students, as chosen by a panel of esteemed industry critics.

“We’re trying to get the name of the department out there,” said senior Liz Clancy, an honors merchandising student and this year’s show director. “It really is about featuring the amazing work that our students do.”

This year’s show explores the theme of Heritage, paying homage to fashion’s diverse and extensive history. The show will include a wide range of styles, including cocktail attire, menswear, “Tribal Domination” sportswear with Indian, Mayan and African influences, “Minimalist Chic” outfits inspired by the 1970’s and cutting-edge designs created exclusively for the runway. Juniors and seniors submitted their designs for a juried show in April, during which 10 fashion professionals from across the U.S. selected the best designs.

“Our critics all understand construction, quality, how everything has to be put together for superior garments,” said Karen Videtic, chair of the Fashion Design and Merchandising Department. “When they look at the garments, they look at creativity and uniqueness of design but also craftsmanship. Some of these garments are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside.”

Plenty of people are clamoring to see the well-crafted designs; the show sold out in just six hours. Those lucky enough to secure seats will experience the culmination of hours of dedication invested by the fashion designers.

“The process is long,” said junior Danielle Canfield, whose feminine yacht outfit was chosen for the Junior Sportswear collection. “We have to sketch out possible ideas, choose an outfit, send it to the critic to be approved, sew a draft or muslin, hold fittings and sew the final outfit. Let’s just say there are a lot of sleepless nights.”

Haerin Jeon, a senior from South Korea, estimated that it took four months to design and create her piece, which explores the tension between male and female by combining elements of each into one garment. Ms. Jeon’s garment is a finalist in the Arts of Fashion International Competition. 

“I think people really confuse what fashion designers do,” Videtic said. “They don’t understand that it’s an extremely technical career. It’s a painstaking process, and it takes the entire semester to get it right. We want the community to know that our students not only design these garments but they make these garments and are prepared to enter fashion industry upon graduation.”

The unsung heroes of the show can be found backstage, making sure everything goes smoothly. Fourteen honors merchandising students handle the entire soup-to-nuts production of the hourlong show, working with the VCU Graphic Design Center to come up with promotional materials, selecting models, assisting with fittings, constructing the runway and arranging music and choreography.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” Clancy said. “I feel like I could run a business now.”