[439] MTSU fashion promotion students to show African couture on runway April 16

MURFREESBORO — MTSU students who major in textiles, merchandising and design will strut their stuff in an end-of-semester extravaganza.

The program’s annual Fashion Runway Show is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday, April 16, in Room 221 of the McWherter Learning Resources Center. A printable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap.

The theme is African couture with male and female fashions running the gamut of numerous royal, tribal and contemporary styles indicative of how people all over the continent dress.

With the oversight of Rick Cottle, an assistant professor who teaches a fashion promotion class, 20 students take charge of every aspect of preparation, including stage and production, modeling, promotion, merchandise and finance.

“The class participates in the division of labor themselves from the very beginning when there’s not organization,” Cottle said.

Scholarship prizes of $750 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place will be awarded for the top designs.

In addition, seniors will create special five-garment collections and submit them to a separate panel of judges. The winner will receive design time from Omega Apparel of Nashville to take an original garment through from concept to production.

Senior Michelle Cooper of Brentwood, Tennessee, said she is using denim and interlock knit for her creations, and she’s doing her own dyeing.

“It’s been challenging, but I’ve made it,” said Cooper. “It’s been interesting, too. I found my aesthetic a couple of years ago and I’ve stuck with that.”

Jacob Burton, a senior from La Vergne, Tennessee, is the student charged with “taking a step back and seeing what the consumer is going to get,” as he described it.

“It’s been a good learning experience in how the show goes down behind the scenes,” Burton said. “Thirteen weeks is not long enough to put on a whole show.”

Senior Alexandria Booker from Chapel Hill, Tennessee, is in charge of the stage appearance, lighting, audio, soundtracks and programs. She said there is no way the work for this show can be limited to the classroom.

“Mainly, in this class, we discuss various things, and, then, outside of class, we make our contacts,” Booker said.

General admission tickets are $25. Student tickets are $10. VIP tickets, which include access to a pre-show reception hosted by the runway show’s advisory board, are $50.

To purchase tickets, contact Cottle at 615-494-8752 or rick.cottle@mtsu.edu. For more information, go to www.facebook.com/mtrunwayshow16.