WVU students show off designs at ‘Fashioning A New Era’ show

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — Students with WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design showcased fashion designs created with sustainability in mind at a “Fashion A New Era” show Friday night at the Erickson Alumni Center.

Models and students with the Fashion, Dress and Merchandising Program at WVU showed off their seasonless and genderless designs. Before the show, some high school students got a look at a behind-the-scenes event that featured a hands-on activity related to the fashion industry.

“You are going to see a lot of stability, a lot of upcycling, a lot of different media, things like chains and leather,” Show Producer Susan Liebesman said.

Much of the focus for the students was on sustainability and how the fashion industry can take responsibility for its environmental impact by using new technologies and handcrafted techniques to create unique pieces with minimal ecological impact .

Students featured in the show were challenged to create pieces that focus on seasonless and gender-neutral clothing while utilizing technology and sustainable techniques that they have learned from school.

“We are really kind of morphing into this world where everything is seasonless, genderless, seasonless, you see a lot of fashion that can go into different seasons on different genders. And I like that,” Liebesman said. “I’m happy to see that West Virginia took that concept for the show because I think that’s where the world needs to go with it.”

Tickets for the fashion show cost $35 at the event and pre-show sales of tickets cost $30. Students and representatives of the fashion, dress and merchandising department said those funds go to pay for the production of the show.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com.