Fashion School celebrates 30 years at Kent State

Morgan Jupina

Kent State’s Fashion School will present its annual fashion show, FS2, Saturday featuring 24 senior design students’ collections.

In addition to the collections, ten other seniors’ individual looks and three underclassmen looks will also be shown. American fashion designer Yeohlee Teng will be inducted into the Fashion School’s Hall of Fame during the awards show.

The fashion shows will begin at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the Music and Speech Building. Tickets will cost $40 per person for the 1 p.m. matinee show and $65 per person for the 6 p.m. awards show.

Amanda Miller, senior fashion design student, qualified during senior critiques in March to show her collection during the show.

“When I first found out that people were finding out if they got into the show or not, I immediately checked my email,” Miller said. “When I read that I got into the show, I told everyone I knew. I was ecstatic.”

Miller said she looks forward to seeing the hard work she put into her collection on the runway.

“I’m satisfied with the models chosen for my looks and cannot wait to see them work it out at the show,” Miller said. “Having my collection presented in the show is just the icing on the cake to my great experience here.”

This year will mark the Fashion School’s 30th anniversary, which will be acknowledged during the show.

The Fashion School has a long history of success since its official opening in July of 1983.

J.R. Campbell, director of the Fashion School, said the foundation of success for the school came from the generous donations from Shannon Rodgers and Jerry Silverman, the founders of the Fashion Museum for whom the school is named.

“With a big bang like we had to start the school off, there has always been a sense that we need to honor that and push it,” Campbell said. “At the same time, we’ve always known that, with that kind of support, we could be competing with the big guys and had that drive to really prove it.”

Campbell said after 30 years, the Fashion School continues to strive for excellence. He said a less traditional academic approach sets them apart from other universities.

“Over time, we made a curriculum that has a nice balance between solid academic foundations and a practical industry-connected approach,” Campbell said. “We quickly get our students into practice and use that practice to enforce knowledge.”

Campbell said one of his favorite accomplishments the school has had was the official opening of the New York City Studio in 2006.

“We stand out because of that. We serve our students and the department in a much more affective way by having that presence,” Campbell said. “It really represents something.”

Campbell said the school works off of persistence. He said “persistence wins.”

“We continue to be pretty progressive on our approaches to technology,” Campbell said. “That started in the late ‘80s early ‘90s and has a long history in this school.”

Miller said she will miss being a Kent State student.

“The fashion program is successful because of the great facility available and the motivation received from the faculty,” Miller said. “I envy those entering the fashion program now because the school is making major improvements with the program that will definitely be beneficial to those in it.”

Contact Morgan Jupina at [email protected].