Dance music began to play as the lights dimmed in Fisher Theater Saturday night. Suddenly, the darkened stage became aglow with the scene of a city illuminated on either side of the runway. The entire stage lit up as a model entered the stage and walked the runway, her appearance accentuated by silver Mylar paper on either side of her, creating the effect of mirrors and enabling the audience to view the model from multiple angles.

The 20th Annual Textiles and Clothing Fashion Show, titled “Transmission” this year, was a great success, with nearly sold-out shows on both Friday and Saturday night. The show took months to plan, with preparation beginning in July, said Emily Whitmer, co-producer of the fashion show.

“[This show] is probably one of the best experiences I’ve had in college,” said Whitmer, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production.

Whitmer spent more than 40 hours this week working on the show, she said. Along with co-producing the show, she had a collection of garments and three piece in the show.

A collection is several garments that are similar and go together but could be sold separately, Whitmer said.

She is very pleased with how well the show turned out, mentioning Friday’s show was “flawless.”

“I couldn’t have asked for a better show,” she said.

Gina DeMuth, co-set technical director, said meetings with all of the directors began in January and planning has continued through this week.

“It’s so cool to see the set after talking about the concepts and seeing our ideas up there,” said DeMuth, senior in apparel merchandising, design and production.

DeMuth said her grandparents and aunt came to her show on Friday night and enjoyed it.

“They loved the mirror concept because they could see the models from different angles,” DeMuth said. “They said the garments were outrageous and they were blown away by the talent and creativity.”

There were approximately 30 pieces in the show, all of which were chosen April 5 by a panel of professionals in the industry, DeMuth said.

Lisa Hendrickson of Motherhood Maternity was the Guest Designer for this year’s show. Hendrickson won top honors at Iowa State’s first fashion show in 1982 before graduating in 1983.

Hendrickson called “Transmission” a “tremendous production” and said it was “so exciting to be here.”

“It’s been great to see everybody and to see how terrific the show has been this year,” she added.

Garments of the evening included a dress by Linnea Woline entitled “CD Dress,” which was covered in CDs, and a dress by Ashley Drahn entitled “Butterfly,” which appeared to be an enormous butterfly covering the model.

“What a great show and what a wonderful way to showcase the talents of our students,” said President Gregory Geoffroy, who attended the show on Saturday night.

Awards were given at the end of the show for the best pieces of casual wear, collections, evening wear, experimental and accessories. There was also a “Best of Show” award, won by Drahn, junior in apparel merchandising, design and production, for “Butterfly.”

This was Drahn’s first year entering the fashion show. The idea for “Butterfly” came to her while she took a summer class. She was thinking of ideas for spring, which made her think of flowers and then butterflies. The colors chosen for the dress came from the colors of flowers on Iowa State’s campus, she said.

“There were so many good garments,” Drahn said. “I feel honored I was picked.”

Sarah Smith, senior in chemistry, attended her first ISU fashion show Saturday night.

“My favorite piece was the CD Dress,” Smith said. “I thought it was a classic style with a modern interpretation.”

“The show was interesting – I thought the designers were very innovative,” she said.

Alisa Timmerman, sophomore in pre-advertising, modeled for the fashion show. A friend of hers is a designer and told her about the possibility of modeling for the show.

“I thought [the pieces] were really unique and the people who made them are very talented,” she said.

James Campbell, assistant professor of textiles and clothing, is the adviser for the yearly fashion show.

“It’s getting bigger and better every year,” he said of the show, noting this is the fourth show he’s advised.

“The creativity and complexity has gotten stronger,” Campbell said. “The diversity, design and attention to detail have increased over the years.”