By Abigail Petrucci
Staff Writer
The Fashion Club and the Fashion Design and Retailing Department presented the first annual Spring Fashion Show since 2019 on April 29.
After collecting materials, putting together their pieces for the show, and finding the perfect models to wear their garments, it was finally time for students to display all the results of their hard work.
Hallie Livengood, a senior fashion design and retailing major, was one of these student designers.
Livengood presented a clothing line she called “Ageless,” inspired by children’s designs and patterns. She said her hope was to “to create mature and memorable looks that make people smile.
“I believe that fashion should be ageless, and you should be able to wear what you want even if it looks like it's for children or made out of stuffed animals,” she added. One of the jackets was actually made out of stuffed animals.
With such a vision, Livengood said her design ethos is centered around making people happy, and designing pieces people will see as “fun.”
“Presenting my collection at the fashion show was such a rush, with all the hard work I had been putting in for my portfolio class as well as everything I did outside of class,” Livengood said. “It was just truly satisfying to see it all together on stage with my music. I was definitely nervous about it, but it all went extremely smoothly.”
Livengood’s collection won the award for Most Creative for her portfolio class, which she exclaimed was “insane.
“I really truly honestly didn't expect it, but it really affirmed that my work is good and that a lot of people see it like that,” she said. “I am beyond proud of myself for fighting through these five years of school despite all the things I've gone through.”
Livengood said her models were “absolutely fantastic” and a big reason why her showing went so well. Among her models were Cas Barrett, Jade Kay, Emmerson Harris, Rodrienne Georges, Susanna Krantz, and her younger sister, Shelby Livengood.
“They truly were amazing, and I wouldn't change them for the world!” she added. “When it came to selecting models through the model casting, I did it based almost entirely on who was smiling in the pictures even while wearing the masks. I'm glad I did it that way because these people are what made my collection work as well as it did!”
The reason Livengood chose smiling models was because she needed them to be happy and comfortable in her garments for them to be represented well.
Putting together her collection was a “fun” process, Livengood said. “Over the five years I have been in college, I have collected a lot of children's quilting fabric and other primary color materials. I really love to mix and match patterns and colors, so it was important to me that I would be able to balance these chaotic color mixes well.”
Beverly Leino, a junior fashion design and retailing major and publicist of the Fashion Club, helped a lot behind the scenes with the fashion show. Some of her work included making the flyers and invitations. She said the Fashion Club started planning early in the year.
She added there were several committees that planned the fashion show, including those who helped the models backstage.
“I felt so proud of myself and the eBoard members and all the design students,” Leino said. “The thing I look forward to most about the fashion show is that even though it's a lot of work, it feels amazing to know you did all of that work, and so many people enjoy it. So many designers are proud of themselves.”
Leino said the best aspect of the fashion program at FSU is that because it’s a small campus, it’s very easy to make connections and form friendships with professors and other fashion majors. Making connections helped her build her skillset.
Odilia Mendez Barrondo, a junior fashion design and retailing major and treasurer of the Fashion Club, modeled for Tyler Williamson, a senior fashion design and retailing major. When a few models dropped out of the show, she stepped up to help Williamson model her garments.
“Although we only had three days for her to create a garment from start to finish, the garment came out amazing!” Barrondo said. “It was so much fun and an honor working alongside a very talented designer. I was nervous at first walking the runway, but I enjoyed it and felt confident once I started walking down it.”
As treasurer of the fashion club, Barrando helped co-host the show.
“I was most excited to see the whole show come together and see everyone's hard work pay off and be shown,” Barrando added.