Pictured: Students modeling for the Spring Splash Fashion Show. PHOTO CREDIT: James Singer | Photo Editor Emeritus
Student designers in the textiles, fashion merchandising and design department (TMD) showcased their designs in the 19th annual “Spring Splash” fashion show on Sunday.
The event was organized by Dr. Susan Hannel and Elaine Grullón and was held in the Memorial Union ballroom. Yemi Sekoni, fashion industry expert, hosted the event.
Sekoni serves on the advisory board for the TMD department. She is also the president of Donahue Models and Talent and is the founder and executive producer of Rhode Island Fashion Week.
According to Sekoni, Grullón reached out to her about hosting the event. She had attended other Spring Splash shows in the past and was excited for the opportunity.
After opening remarks from Sekoni, the show was split into two separate runway groups: one dedicated to the Red Dress Project and the other for advanced design students. Overall, the show included over forty pieces from nineteen designers.
According to the event’s program, the Red Dress Project was created by Canadian designer, Jaime Black. The collection was meant to represent indigenous women who were murdered or went missing. In the first part of the show, students were able to display their own red dresses to symbolize the violence towards indigenous women.
The second runway group was dedicated to advanced design students.
Lillian Marie, a fourth-year TMD major, displayed six pieces in the show. Her collection was titled “Garden Party,” and she received her inspiration from nature.
“I originally started off with just flowers, and then thought to broaden it out and make sure I’m getting all sides of nature like birds, bees and butterflies,” said Marie.
She also reflected on the process of creating her designs and then bringing them to life on the runway.
“Picking out fabrics was the hardest part because I’m a perfectionist,” Marie said. “So a lot of effort went into just picking things out and putting them together.”
Hannah Haines, another fourth-year in the TMD department, took her love of glamorous fashion to the runway.
“I have always been in love with couture fashion and really glamorous pieces,” said Haines. “I worked as a bridal consultant and that was when I fell in love with bridal and formal wear.”
Her designs lit up the runway with full sequined skirts and dazzling white fabrics.
Anatomy was the inspiration for another collection titled “Under Your Skin” by fourth-year Avery Motyka. Her two pieces were inspired by the human skeletal and muscular systems.
“First I had a really solid idea of what I wanted with my sketches, which I think helped a lot,” Motyka said. “A lot of peoples’ ideas changed throughout the process, but I think I stuck pretty solidly to mine.”
Every design was unique, and displayed the students’ talents for fashion design and production. Sekoni spoke to the unique challenges for students aspiring to work in the fashion industry and offered her advice.
“Because there’s an expectation for instant success and fame, people don’t give themselves enough time to get to that point before they quit,” said Sekoni. “They need to understand that it is a marathon, and not a sprint. So for me, patience and persistence would be the biggest things that I could tell anyone.” Participating in the annual Spring Splash fashion show serves as experiential learning for students who want to pursue fashion design. For more information about the event and the department, check out their website: https://web.uri.edu/business/about/tmd/.