A focus on bridal design at Kent State’s School of Fashion and industry internships allowed alum Dara Broadous to fall in love with the lace, tulle and other delicate fabrics and designs of wedding dresses.
Armed with a bachelor of arts from Kent State's School of Fashion, consistently ranked among the best fashion programs worldwide, Broadous took matters into her own skilled hands.
“When it came time for me to get married, I said ‘This is my time to shine and create the perfect dress for myself because I know that I have the skills to do that,’” said Broadous, a 2019 graduate whose day job is to design active tops for Abercrombie & Fitch in Columbus, Ohio.
It was two years ago when she married her husband, Caleb, also a 2019 Kent State graduate. But it was only recently that she shared a step-by-step pictorial on Instagram depicting how she used the skills she acquired at Kent State to design her wedding dress.
"Kent State gave me the tools that I needed to be able to be successful in the industry," she said. "A lot of it was just like how the classes were taught, the project requirements and how you would even think about the projects. I am able to take that knowledge and that foundation and translate it to [the] corporate [world], but also knowing I could translate it to be an entrepreneur and create my own bridal company if I wanted to one day. Even just the connections I made with people at Kent have been honestly amazing."
Kent State Today shows you how Broadous, whose Instagram handle is @madebydarab, designed her dream dress in the span of a week:
Step #1
The Sketch
Step #2
Broadous looked for specific fabrics: a light blush pink fabric, a sparkly tulle as a second layer and a hand-chosen lace layer on top to give the design dimension. She picked fabrics that moved with her body so that the dress would be comfortable.
Step # 3
She sourced with a vendor sending them the original sketch, swatches of fabric and feedback on phone calls to pull the look together in about six weeks.
Step #4
Broadous said Kent State gave her the skills to compete in the fashion industry, and at the same time, she met her husband and a lot of good friends here. "I enjoyed my time there and have a lot to show for it too, which I'm very thankful for."
The Final Look
"I was so happy with how my dress turned out," Broadous said. "It was a dream and it literally came from my brain and now exists in real life, so I will always love that."
