By Devon Cavic —
Clear your schedule on April 30 at 7 p.m. because the Silhouettes fashion show has returned! This year, for the first time ever, the student show will be free with a University of Wisconsin–Stout student ID.
The fashion show is a long-lived tradition at Stout. For years, students from the apparel design and development major have been creating original designs and patterns, then sewing their garments to get them ready for the annual Silhouettes fashion show.
This year the show will feature work from over 50 designers from freshman to seniors and study abroad students. There are multiple categories including children’s wear, men’s wear, women’s wear and swimwear.
Michelle Schlung is the president of the organization, along with being a featured designer in this year’s show. Schlung believes the variety is what draws people to the event.
“I think what gets people excited is the different collections that are in the show; there’s all kinds of garments, not just one category,” Schlung said.
The executive board and other members of the organization started planning the fashion show in the fall. Members had the opportunity to present ideas about how they want to see the show run and about whether or not there should be a theme. Schlung and the exec board work to turn the members’ ideas into reality.
“We listen to different ideas they have for the show. Then our job is to research all of that and make it all work and come together,” Schlung said.
One area the Silhouettes organization decided to focus on this year is increasing publicity for the event. Media releases were sent to bloggers, and industry invites were sent out across the nation, which included free tickets to the fashion show in hopes that industry professionals would see the talent in the Stout program and offer internships or jobs to the designers.
Schlung believes it is important to promote Stout’s apparel design and development program to the fashion industry.
“A lot of schools have fashion shows, but we’re so good at fit and construction. We just need a lot more awareness,” Schlung said.
The student show is April 30 at 7 p.m. and is free with a Stout student ID. Tickets for non-students are $10. There are two shows on May 2. The 3 p.m. show is $10 a ticket and the 5 p.m. show is $12 a ticket and includes the awards ceremony. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.uwstout.edu