MUF&D hosts 20th annual fashion show, awards designers $5,000

Miami University Fashion and Design (MUF&D) hosted its 20th annual fashion show April 25. This year’s theme, “Allure,” was inspired by the mystique and intrigue that have followed MUF&D for 20 years. The show was one of the organization’s largest yet, with 1,700 tickets sold and 2,400 viewers watching via live stream.

The show featured 22 designers and 84 models. Additionally, MUF&D introduced a new emerging designers collection, which featured five up-and-coming designers. The designers collaborated with one another to create a cohesive collection, “Decadence.” Each designer contributed one design to the collection.

Along with the new collection, Sara Rose Detwiler, MUF&D’s president, announced that the Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship would be providing two designers with a cash prize at the end of the show. After each designer and model did their final walk, Jamie Schisler, the director of Miami’s Fashion Institute, announced that each winner would receive $5,000.

“Tonight is about inspiring our designers, all of them, to pursue their dreams,” Schisler said. “If you want to be an entrepreneur or start a fashion brand or work for a fashion company, we hope tonight really motivates you to do that.”

Schisler announced that the awards were based on two categories: most creative and most commercial. Camille Keaty, a senior marketing and fashion student and MUF&D’s design co-director, won most creative, while Molly Forgach, a senior marketing student, won most commercial.

The doors to Millett Hall opened at 5 p.m., welcoming everyone with places for photo opportunities, free Red Bull, merchandise tables and vendors. Snif, a perfume company, set up a table among the other vendors where brand ambassadors like Hannah Marvich were selling products. While Marvich, a senior marketing student, was there to promote the brand, she was also eager to watch the show.

“I've never been to a fashion show before,” Marvich said, “so I'm just so excited to see the students’ designs and everything. Yeah, I just really don't know fully what to expect.”

The show opened with this year’s Collab collection: “Allure.” The collection brings the designers together to collaborate on pieces that embody the show’s theme. While designers have to stick to a central idea, they also get to include their own personal touches, according to the fashion show’s program.

After the Collab collection, the rest of the collections followed. Each collection was accompanied by music that fit its theme. Additionally, each look featured hair and makeup that matched the collection’s tone.

Nora Rolke, a first-year arts management and arts entrepreneurship student, helped with the models’ makeup. She typically does makeup for UP Magazine, but was recruited by the magazine’s hair and makeup director, Scout Tincher, and decided to join in.

It was really smooth,” Rolke said. “[The guys] all wanted very minimal, so I think it went really well … Some of the girls wanted gems, so I liked doing that, because that turned out [so good].”

Makeup and hairstyles ranged from simple to elaborate. The models wearing Forgach’s designs wore simpler, sun-kissed makeup, which inevitably worked in the designer’s favor. Forgach’s collection, Solaria, embodied the experience of tanning on the beach on a hot summer day.

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Many of the audience members enjoyed the elaborate and detailed collections. Two viewers even praised MUF&D for allowing students to create their own professional fashion show.

“It's very cool that [MUF&D has] this opportunity,” said Mackenzie Cantrell, a first-year biomedical engineering student.

Bernadette Dahlstrom, a first-year mathematics student, agreed, but also thought that it was nice that regular students could attend a high-quality fashion show.

“And just for us students to go to,” Dahlstrom said. “Like, it seems so professional, and we just have access to it.”

pedenae@miamioh.edu