Fifth Annual Student Designed, Orchid-Inspired Garments Complement Orchid Mania at the Cleveland Botanical Garden beginning Jan. 27

Kent State University’s Fashion School of Design and Merchandising will again have garments on display at the Cleveland Botanical Garden (CBG) during their 2018 Orchid Mania exhibition from Jan. 27 – March 11.  The display is part of an annual school-sponsored competition which is directed towards junior-level design students charged with conceiving of fabric and garment designs that inspired by the exquisite flora, the Orchid. Faculty member Betsy Carr coordinates the event.

 

The students, through the use of photographic images of orchids, manipulate the images in computer software to create a fabric design that will then be imprinted on fabric.   Through the school’s resource and innovation lab known as the TechStyleLab, students are able to utilize equipment such as high-tech fabric printers, an industrial laser cutter, Stoll knitting machines, and a commercial embroidery machine to transform their computer generated designs onto fabric.  The fabric is then cut and sewn according to the student’s design and created into a finished product.  The garments – 15 designs in total – will be displayed on dress forms, which are distributed throughout the orchid displays.  Visitors to the CBG are encouraged to vote for their top three designs including “Best Use of Inspiration”, “Best Fabric Design” and “Best in Show.”  This year’s participants hail from ten different states including Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Oklahoma, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

 

“For the past five years our students have been designing well-crafted, highly creative pieces that have knocked visitors’ socks off,” said Carr. “Some students have even received requests for custom orders as a direct result of the show.”

 

Winners, who will receive a cash prize, will be determined on Saturday, March 3 from 3 – 4:30 pm during a special reception hosted by the Kent State University Museum.  Tickets are $35 per person and include admission into the Garden and wine and light refreshments in the beautiful setting of the Garden Room.  Guests of this event will enjoy meeting the student designers while experiencing the designs on live models from 3 pm – 4 pm before the awards ceremony. 

 

The event is open to everyone.  Reservations are due by February 26. For more information visit www.kent.edu/artscollege

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For more information contact:
Effie Tsengas, Communications & Marketing Director

College of the Arts, Kent State University

etsengas@kent.edu

330-283-2713 (Mobile) or 330-672-8398 (Office)

POSTED: Monday, January 22, 2018 09:08 AM
Updated: Friday, December 9, 2022 12:43 AM
WRITTEN BY:
Effie Tsengas