The creative designs of 26 Michigan State University students, including 20 Apparel and Textile Design students from the College of Arts & Letters, were featured before a sold-out theatre of more than 500 attendees at the 2023 VIM Magazine Fashion Show.

“For students who want to pursue this full-time, this show is a valuable resource to gain professional experience, photos for their portfolio, and free practice for the real world,” said Olivia Simone, one of the Editors-in-Chief for VIM Magazine. “For those who are just doing the show for fun, it’s a great opportunity to see your creations come to life.”

Each year, VIM Magazine, one of Michigan State University’s student-run fashion, beauty, and lifestyle publications, holds a spring fashion show. This year’s event took place on March 24 at the Pasant Theatre of the Wharton Center for Performing Arts.

One of the student designers for this year’s show, Cate Blair, a senior Apparel and Textile Design major, created a three-look collection for which she taught herself how to sew pleated skirts, produce natural sun dyes, and knit a bandeau top.

“I took some risks — I did a lot of things I’ve never tried before. I took my personal style and forced myself forward to try even harder techniques because I felt like I was ready for it.”

Cate Blair, Apparel and Textile Design senior

“I took some risks — I did a lot of things I’ve never tried before,” she said. “I took my personal style and forced myself forward to try even harder techniques because I felt like I was ready for it.”

Blair focused on designing plus-size garments for the show to reflect and represent different body types.

“All of my designs are plus-size designs,” she said. “I wanted to make sure if someone was going to do it, it would be me.”

This semester, Blair also displayed her work alongside 16 student designers at the 2023 Apparel and Textile Design Showcase held in March at (SCENE) Metrospace. As one of the three Presidents of the Fashion Design Student Association, an organization mentored by Saetbyul Park, Associate Professor in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design, Blair helped jury the event.

“It was so satisfying seeing my models on stage, especially after all the work I put into it.”

Jade Jaarda, dual major in Apparel and Textile Design and Theatre

Jade Jaarda, a senior with a dual major in Apparel and Textile Design and Theatre and one of the designers for this year’s VIM Fashion Show, said her runway experience was a lot different than designing for a theater production.

“I have had theater people wear costumes that I put together, but this was something I had to sew completely from scratch — everything totally new,” she said. “That was kind of a first for me having a lot of worries like, ‘Will it fit them? Will it look good?’ Then on top of that, having them go out and walk in front of a sold-out show.”

Jaarda designed two looks for the show that took her three months to complete. Describing her designs as comfortable, dainty, and flowy, her inspirations stemmed from gothic architecture with a pastel blue and pink color palette.

“It was so satisfying seeing my models on stage, especially after all the work I put into it,” she said.

About 60 student models participated in the fashion show who were dressed and styled backstage by the student designers before making their way onto the runway.

“For students who want to pursue this full-time, this show is a valuable resource to gain professional experience, photos for their portfolio, and free practice for the real world.”

Olivia Simone, an Editor-in-Chief for VIM Magazine

The two-hour event opened with a short film created by the VIM Film Team, which introduced the members of VIM’s Fashion Relations Team and highlighted 10 of the 26 student designers in a fast-paced Q&A session. This year’s theme of Ethereal Lush was demonstrated in the second half of the film, which depicts a dreamy, prismatic scene in a garden with a group of models dressed in vibrant garments.

Both Blair and Jaarda were among the student designers who were featured in the short film.

“It was really amazing to experience overall,” Blair said. “I’ve always loved fashion. I felt like it was ‘Project Runway.’ It’s kind of cliche, but I was obsessed with that as a kid.”

Following up on the success of the show, VIM is scheduled to publish its Spring 2023 Magazine in late April.

“Knowing that we are growing the VIM community every day,” Simone said, “and creating a space for students to express themselves creatively means that we are doing our jobs right.”

Written by Kseniya Lukiy, Kelsey Lester, Kim Popiolek