Models decked out as a mermaid, ballerina and Little Bo Peep strutted the runway Thursday night, but this fashion show didn’t feature the clothes of famous designers—but of paper vendors.

ISU students participated in the unique trade show, put on by a Des Moines company to give its vendors a chance to show off their products.

Unisource, a marketer and distributor of paper, held their fall 2003 paper trade show as a fashion show. ISU students in the textiles and clothing program in experimental design were assigned by J.R. Campbell, assistant professor of textiles and clothing, to design a garment using a vendor’s paper from Unisource.

Other designers from the Central Iowa community also entered designs. The event was judged in two sections, one for ISU students and another for the other designers.

Each student selected colors from Unisource’s vendors’ lines and went back to the classroom to let their creativity run wild. Garments were made entirely of paper in a variety of weights and textures. Students crumpled, tore, cut, molded and applied various other techniques to make their paper stand out.

Erin Schulte, senior in apparel, design, merchandising and production, said she had never worked with paper for human use before, and it was a bit of a challenge.

Her garment was made to look like a picnic basket. The bodice was in the shape of a basket with real food sticking out, and the skirt resembled a checkered blanket on a grassy lawn. She accessorized her outfit with a hat in the shape of a plate with a sandwich on top and ant shoes. Schulte had to Saran Wrap herself and plaster over it to create shape and support for the top.

“It was hard to build out away from the bodice and out from the form, but I enjoyed it — it was a lot of fun,” Schulte said.

ISU winners of the event were Shelley Kramer, junior in apparel, design, merchandising and production, in first place for “Ice Princess,” Schulte in second place for her “Picnic Basket” and Jennifer Woodruff, junior in apparel, design, merchandising and production, in third place for “Baby Doll.”

Megan Hammond, Unisource specifications director and ISU graduate, came up with the idea for the show to attract more companies and stand out from the competition.

The paper vendors said they enjoyed coming to this trade show more than others.

Steve Merrill, representative for Gilbert Paper, had two or three outfits made from their paper in the show. “It was nice to see paper used in a unique application as opposed to commercial printing,” Merrill said.

Campbell said he thought the assignment was a good one because of the creative exposure the ISU Textiles Program would receive.

“There aren’t very many opportunities to see beyond fabric,” Campbell said. “Structure is so important when working with a different material.”