Students in the experimental design course at Iowa State learned that combining paper, a lively imagination and a little luck can lead to the next fashion trend.

The class displayed their finished clothing designs for women and children Wednesday afternoon in LeBaron Hall.

The clothes were created as a class project that required each student to design a wearable outfit made almost completely from paper products.

Jane Farrell-Beck, a professor in textiles and clothing who teaches the class, said this year’s class is one of the best she has taught.

She said she was pleased with the high quality of the students’ creations.

Emily VanderLinden, a senior in apparel merchandising, design and production, showed off a miniskirt she created with stripes of fluorescent Post-It notes taped together and flipped up to add shape.

Paper party pineapples tied together with colorful paper braiding created a bikini top to wear with the skirt.

“This is probably the most interesting thing I’ve ever done,” VanderLinden said.

VanderLinden said she decided to use the paper party pineapples as a top, but said they were a little more revealing than she expected.

Experimental design student Katherine Noyes said she wanted to get creative with her project.

Noyes, a senior in apparel merchandising, design and production, designed a gothic, form-fitting black dress by weaving twist ribbon found at craft supply stores.

“You see crazy things on the [fashion] runways all the time,” Noyes said. “I thought this was as crazy as it gets.”

Noyes said it took her more than two weeks just to untwist the black ribbon for her dress.

Her classmate Whitney Roe, a junior in apparel merchandising, design and production, had to fold 200 origami birds for her paper kimono.

“I folded birds while watching TV… and between my classes,” Roe said.

Students used maps, craft paper, magazine pages, wrapping paper, tissue paper and napkins to make their clothing.

Many said they got their ideas for the paper clothing from the latest designs in the fashion world or by observing what other people are wearing on the streets.

Two students created futuristic outfits inspired by science fiction.

Dianna Baldwin, a senior in apparel merchandising, design and production, dressed up a dummy as an alien to model her neon green wrapping paper dress covered with glow-in-the-dark universe stickers.

Baldwin said she was inspired by all the alien paraphernalia floating around Des Moines.

Miranda Pope, a senior in apparel merchandising, design and production, brought her 3-year-old son to class to model a pirate outfit she made for him out of tissue paper.

“I wanted to make a Halloween costume for him because I’m always making clothes for myself,” Pope said.

The outfit included a baggy pair of striped pants and a vest with skull and crossbones buttons.

Some designers said their clothing didn’t quite turn out the way they originally planned.

Farrell-Beck said students had to be careful that their outfits provided movement.

In addition, Farrell-Beck said paper clothing does appear in the fashion world.

“There is a market for disposable clothing, both in the medical field and in fashion,” she said. “Designers are into wilder and wilder fashions.”