One of the largest student-run fashion shows in the nation is in the process of planning by a committee of Iowa State students. The Fashion Show is a place for the apparel, merchandising and design program (AMD), to showcase their work.

The AMD program provides education on the textile and clothing industry along with creation. Developing products, marketing and production are key aspects of this program.

“It gives the design students an opportunity to show off the work that they’ve been working on throughout their college career, specifically their senior collection,” said Liv Makeever, managerial producer and AMD senior.

With Makeever’s emphasis on merchandising, it is a chance for her to have a large event to put on her resume.

Along with student designers, The Fashion Show also partners with a guest designer. Currently, finding a theme and a partnering company to match is the outreach producer’s main task. In the past, Patagonia, Vans and Urban Outfitters have been included.

“The day of the show, they present their collections as kind of an intermission or at the start of the second half of the show,” said Abby Ashbacher, outreach producer and AMD senior. “That also involves the models we chose. It’s a good opportunity for the models because they get to not only model student design garments, but also name brand garments from our guest designer.”

Along with Makeever and Ashbacher, the planning committee consists of AMD seniors Julia Tighe and Audrey McMillan, along with faculty advisor Sarah Bennett-George. The students joined as freshmen, working their way up to producer positions. Since August, they have been meeting regularly to plan the show.

“It’s just a great opportunity to gain real world experience within our major, and I feel like that’s the most rewarding thing to do,” Ashbacher said.

Models are currently being cast, and it’s not too late to sign up. The final day of auditions is Thursday, and time slots are still available. Casting does not discriminate against gender expression or body type; the only requirements are to wear form-fitting clothing, heels, natural hair and makeup. Modeling judges base their casting on confidence, poise and the model’s runway walk.

“We talk to our designers to see what types of clothing that they’re making,” Makeever said. “Different size ranges, gender presentation, that they want to see in their line.”

After models are selected, the designers choose which models they want to use. Here, they have the models try on the garments that will be presented on the runway.

Makeever described the day of the show as “organized chaos,” as there are three committees, production, design and model, all working backstage in separate sections. The DJs, host and guest designers are also set up in this area before the show.

“You definitely have to have a passion for it to spend this much time thinking about it this early on,” said Tighe, outreach producer. “Definitely all of us have that passion and have just loved our experience with The Fashion Show as a whole.”

The Fashion Show, an annual event, will take place April 15, 2023, at Stephens Auditorium. The team expects about 2,000 guests to attend, and the event will be live-streamed on YouTube.