NYC to Nashville: Senior designs shine in Lipscomb Fashion Show
This week, Shamblin Theater transformed into a runway for Lipscomb Department of Fashion & Design’s annual Fashion Show.
The highly anticipated event showcases undergraduate designs, as students from all levels of the fashion program bring their sketches to life. They often use their Lipscomb peers as models, making the event a campus-wide celebration.
The fashion show culminates in a senior showcase, where each senior presents their collection of five to seven pieces that they designed over the past year. This year, eight designers brought their final collections to the runway.
Pomai Romano debuted her bridal collection at the fashion show. Her designs were accompanied by a spoken poem, which she wrote and recorded.
“I wanted to tie in my collection with the theme of purity because of what Jesus did in dying on the cross for us. So the colors are red, gold, and white, and the poem ties it all in. It’s just very symbolic,” Romano said. She was inspired by the Biblical imagery of “The Bride of Christ.”
Romano’s pieces incorporated complex embroidery and hand-stitched pearls. She said the process of preparing for the fashion show is long – the seniors began working on their designs in August.
“We do the entire process that a fashion designer would. We dream it up, and we have our mood boards that we make… and then we make all of our own patterns. Literally the entire thing is ours,” said Romano.
After the seniors began their designs and created mockups during the first semester, they all traveled to New York City to pick out fabrics.
“It was so fun,” said Romano about the trip. “I was with my girls, and it was so sweet. We knew we were in for a long semester, and it was just so encouraging and exciting to start it off in New York.”
The seniors spent countless hours perfecting their designs. Romano says one of her dresses took her 70 hours, and she created five designs. But she said the work was worth seeing her creation come to life.
“I didn’t make a lot of changes to my original design, so my original illustrations are a spitting image of what I created. So it’s like, by the Lord’s leading, straight from my brain to the runway,” Romano smiled excitedly.
Romano’s bridal collection was just one of seven that crossed the runway on Thursday night. The final collection was designed by Adrienne Boudreaux, who was inspired by 1920s fashion. She drew inspiration from antique clothing and old pattern-making books to create her designs.
“I love all things pink and feminine and silks and furs, so I use as much of that kind of texture and colors in the pieces [as I can],” said Boudreaux.
Boudreaux said that from her first sketch to sending her models onto the runway, she spent at least 500 hours on her collection.
“You work on this thing for nine months, and then you release it into the world… I’m definitely going to miss working on the designs, but once they’re done, you have to let it go. Move on to the next thing,” said Boudreaux, as she thumbed through the rack of her designs.
For Boudreaux, the “next thing” is a six-week trip to Florence, Italy, through the fashion department after graduation. Then, she hopes to take on an entrepreneurial adventure in manufacturing or production.
She said the fashion show is special because it allows every designer and viewer to be transported to their own world.
“There are no rules, and fashion can transport you to a whole other world. This show is so fun because you can see all the possibilities that one program can put out,” said Boudreaux.
Featured image taken by Madelyn Paul.
