Seven deadly sins become inspiration for fashion show

Samantha Rainwater

Maria Mancino, Bradley Springfield, Alyse Kimble and Hannah Powell model the “envy” line at the 4th annual Beaux Arts Ball fashion show titled “The 7 Deadly Sins” put on by the Fashion Student Organization. The seven lines of students’ designs r

Credit: Jason Hall

Pride, envy, greed, wrath, lust, gluttony, sloth. These seven deadly sins have become new inspiration for members of the Fashion Student Organization as they design their themed clothing for the Beaux Arts Ball fashion show.

Fashion students are preparing for the annual ball, which will be held tomorrow in the Student Center Ballroom. The doors open at 8 p.m., and the fourth annual fashion show will begin at 10:30 p.m.

Kayleigh Knight, sophomore fashion design major and public relations chair for FSO, said the theme for this year’s ball is Las Vegas, Sin City. The theme for the fashion show is the Seven Deadly Sins.

Knight said there are seven teams participating in the fashion show, and each team was assigned a sin by drawing from a hat. The teams, which consist of four members, must each design four garments: three for females and one for a male.

Knight, who is participating on a design team for the second year, said teams have met with each other to brainstorm ideas and should be starting to construct their garments.

“Most teams meet to brainstorm and bounce ideas off each other, and then they design the garments separately,” Knight said. “(The ball) comes up really fast so you don’t really have enough time to always meet.”

Freshman fashion design major Andrew Spargo is also participating on a design team. He said getting started is the hardest part, but his team is beginning to make progress in their designs.

“We took our main idea and branched off from it, and we are each constructing our own garments with different materials,” Spargo said.

As a freshman, this is his first time actually constructing his own garments, Spargo said. However, he is excited and anxious to show his designs and see what everyone else will create.

“I’m nervous about my first design being up there for everyone to see,” Spargo said.

FSO President and senior fashion design major Crystal Helman said the fashion organization teams up with architecture and interior design students to plan the ball. The fashion students provide much of the entertainment, the interior design students handle decorations and the architecture students do general planning.

“We’re going really big this year,” Helman said. “This theme has really challenged the designers to be creative.”

Junior interior design major Laura Weimer, who attended the ball last year, said she is looking forward to seeing the students’ creativity.

“I always like abstract interpretation, so it will be interesting to see how the groups interpret the seven deadly sins,” Weimer said.

Although Weimer is not helping to organize the ball, she said many interior design majors participate.

“It’s a good way for the different art majors to cooperate and mingle with each other,” Weimer said.

Knight said the teams will be judged by a panel of faculty and professionals. The judging will occur the night before the show, and students will be judged on the construction of garments, how well they fit with the theme and how well the team’s garments work together.

The judges will both inspect the clothing and interview the students, Knight said. The overall winning designer will receive a $50 prize, and each member of the winning team will receive a $25 prize.

The ball will also include other activities such as music, dancing, a cash bar and a prize drawing. Tickets for the ball are $10, and they can be purchased in advance or at the door.

“It feels like a real fashion show, and it’s put on really well,” Knight said. “I’m looking forward to putting my stuff up on the runway and seeing the rest of my team put their stuff up. It’s a good opportunity to see what Kent State fashion students are doing.”

Contact fashion reporter Samantha Rainwater at [email protected].