TMFD's 7th Biennial Student Runway Show a Treat for All the Senses!

05 Jun 2012    

A sellout crowd of 500 filled Centennial Ballroom to experience THE POWER OF FASHION (photo: Toan Chu)

TMFD’s Student Runway Show on April 20, 2012 evolved into a true night to remember, and a full house audience of 500 was on hand to enjoy it. The dazzle and flash of the evening signaled a new direction for this much anticipated biennial event, one that pulled in talent and creativity from across the university’s campuses. A committed and talented group of collaborators brought their skills and energy to months of planning and creativity that shone in Centennial Ballroom on that Friday evening. Vision, structure and color was much in evidence not only in the fashions that were created and modeled so professionally, but in the entire staging of the event, from the pre-show sponsor dinner to the final designer bows.

This year students, faculty and staff from the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, from the College of Journalism and Mass Communications, from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Art’s Johnny Carson School of Theater and its School of Music, and from UNL Libraries’ Center for Digital Research in the Humanities joined TMFD to bring together their imaginations and their creative experience and transform nearly every aspect of the show. They raised the bar significantly and set a new standard for future editions of the show.

Photo credit: Toan Chu

For the first time, thanks to a generous gift of Mary and John Mitchell of Omaha, works by four student designers were selected by a panel of four jurors for special awards.  The jurors included TMFD Professor Emeritus Robert Hillestad, Tomboy Inc. creative director and designer Laura McGrew of Kansas City, former Harper’s Bazaar writer Jenna Gabriel Gallagher of Omaha, and TMFD fashion design alumna Sabrina Jones.  Abby George received the Mary Mitchell Fashion Award Best of Show of $1000 for her ensemble Matisse; Julia Wang received the Mary Mitchell Fashion Award of Distinction of $500 for Structured Contours; Crystal Hobson received the Mary Mitchell Fashion Award Honorable Mention of $250 for A Bit Like Clockwork; and Yang Yu received a second Mary Mitchell Fashion Award Honorable Mention of $250 for Circles. The awards were presented to the designers in a special reception in the department on Friday April 27.

Professors Weiss and Trout flank Mary Mitchell Fashion Award Winners Julia Wang, Crystal Hobson,

Yang Yu and Abby George at the award presentation on Friday April 27, 2012 (photo: Orville Friesen)

The next TMFD Biennial Student Runway show takes place in April 2014. Mark your calendars now!

A sponsor tablescape by Hospitality, Restaurant and Tourism Management students, and CEHS

alumnus Christopher Elbow's signature chocolate dessert that topped off the HRTM created dinner.

TMFD's student runway show designers bask in the glow at the show's finale