Graduate student Carolyn D. Ready, left, created this collection for the Fashion Production Association show. This year's show, themed The House of FPA 2024, had collections inspired by rooms in a house. Ready's collection is "Pooja Room," meaning room of prayer.
Students at Ohio State who were preparing to enter a variety of career fields showcased their creativity with a fashion show at the end of spring semester in the Ohio Union ballroom. As the 2023-24 academic year drew to a close, the students celebrated their accomplishments with faculty, classmates, family and friends.
The annual fashion show enables students to display their abilities in garment design and construction, said Shreya Mishra, who graduated on May 5 and served as president of the Fashion Production Association (FPA) over the past year. She served as FPA co-president in the prior academic year.
The FPA, which organizes the fashion show, is a student organization that is open to all majors. It is especially geared toward students in the college’s Fashion and Retail Studies Program. The theme of this year's show was The House of FPA 2024, with collections inspired by rooms in a house.
Planning the fashion show is a collaborative effort between the FPA executive team, committee chairs and faculty advisers. The large undertaking enables students to hone their organizational, communication and leadership skills, Mishra said.
“We start planning a year out,” Mishra said. “I think it shows how happy everyone is to get started on the new show.”
Event promotes student opportunities to hone full range of skills
Alex Suer, senior lecturer of Fashion and Retail Studies and advisor to the FPA, said the students put countless hours into the production of the annual show. “They learn how to work within teams, brainstorm creative concepts and then figure out how they can execute their vision. All this while keeping time and finances at the forefront of their decision-making process.”
“Not only do students practice their problem-solving skills, but they also have the opportunity to focus on areas that they are passionate about. These include design and garment construction, marketing, social media, fundraising, service learning, day-of-show decorations, event planning and much more,” she said.
“By the end of the year, I can see how so many students grow in confidence and leadership within the organization and the course. And the proof is in the results on the runway during show day.”
Mishra said working with her fellow FPA members to plan the show helped her learn how to best communicate her ideas to those who will execute them.
“I have to make sure I can outline well, and I can follow up with the people who are in charge,” Mishra said. “I feel like that’s a skill that I’ve learned a lot in the past two years: to just take a step back and calm down, and it’s okay if it’s not done my way. As long as it’s done to the best of someone’s abilities, then I should be happy and proud.”
Students who presented their designs in the fashion show incorporated themes from their majors that also fit the show theme. With a rich background in garment construction and design, Carolyn D. Ready earned a degree from Columbus College of Art and Design and then decided to take her learning a step further. She said that pursuing a master's degree in the college's Consumer Sciences Fashion and Retail Studies Program is exciting.
"I have studied academic research about the fashion industry and increased my knowledge about the impact of the industry on society," she said. She became involved in the Fashion Production Association, which is both a student organization and a practicum course, because it sponsors a weekly Sewing Workshop open to all undergraduate students who want to participate. "I volunteer as the workshop instructor," Ready said.
"The students' enthusiasm, motivation, creativity and dedication to producing the show inspires me to volunteer. I also created a collection of my own to add a little extra excitement alongside the students. My collection was "Pooja Room," meaning room of prayer. It was inspired by fabrics, textiles and students from India. I used quilts, saris and embroidered lace for the garments."
Caitlyn Walker, a social work major with a minor in fashion and retail, wove objects into her designs that illustrate challenges faced by people who live in disadvantaged communities. The theme of her presentation was “Nostalgia: From the Trailer Park.”
One of Walker’s designs featured a model carrying a purse crafted from a cigarette carton – bringing attention to the ill effects of nicotine on health. Participating in the fashion show helped her bring awareness to social inequities that she experienced growing up and that she plans to address in her career as a social worker, Walker said.
“I wanted to do this collection because … I thought it could embody what a childhood looked like in a low-income area,” she said. “I did a lot of playing with things in the house and the trailer, and also little pieces of things I remember seeing as a kid.”
Acacia Rhodes, who is majoring in forestry, fisheries and wildlife, said she designed her fashions to be environmentally friendly.
“All my materials are secondhand or reused,” she said.
Mishra also merged her interests by majoring in environment, economy, development and sustainability, with a minor in fashion and retail studies.
Over the summer, she will participate in Ohio State’s EmPOWERment Research in Sustainable Energy (RISE) program. During the 10-week intensive experience, students conduct research in the lab of an Ohio State faculty member with the support of an academic mentor and a peer mentor.
After completing RISE, Mishra said she plans to travel through the end of the year and then apply to graduate school. She said the skills she acquired as FPA president and working with her peers to plan the fashion show will benefit her in her future endeavors.
“It’s my first year and last year being the sole [FPA] president,” she said. “I was kind of anxious at the start, being alone here. But I quickly came to learn that I’m not really alone. … That’s something that I’m really happy about, that I have a team that actually wants to help, and that will help if I ask for it.”
