"The Fashion for Life runway event is a culminating experience for our apparel design students. It is an opportunity for the students to discover how fashion and their creativity can give back to the community through their chosen charity,” said Brian Taylor, instructor of Advanced Apparel Design. Benefiting from show proceeds this year was the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. ADAA is an international nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the prevention, treatment, and cure of anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and co-occurring disorders through education, practice, and research.
For senior design students, the fashion show was the product of four years of study and hard work. Designers started researching trends, finding inspiration, sketching and buying fabrics over the summer. On the first day of class in the fall, CTD 450 Advanced Apparel Design students began creating their collections making a garment every couple of weeks. “I am extremely proud of the hard work and dedication these 10 students have shown this year. They each have a unique sense of style and point of view. The collection development process and fashion show experiences mimic what they will encounter once entering the apparel industry," said Taylor.
The 10 designers were Jeff Austin of Birmingham, Ala., Mary Bell of Dallas, Tex., Mingyi Bi of Dalian, China, Christina Daughenbaugh of Sacramento, Cal., Mary Rives Drake of Birmingham, Ala., Ryan Fries of Anderson, S.C., Lashandra Garner of Millbrook, Ala., Allie Gipson of Cullman, Ala., Trevor Hill of Kennesaw, Ga. and Haven Moore of Geiger, Ala.