The Kent State Fashion School held its annual Fashion Show Friday and Saturday with designs created by students in the program.

Each line had multiple designs and a 3D rendering of one outfit from each projected on the stage before the lines came out.

The 3D models were made by Stephanie Birkmeier, a senior fashion design student. Birkmeier was able to work with the computer design program Browzwear to create the designs after her internship with PVH Corp. — a fashion and lifestyle company with headquarters in New York — gave her experience with it. She was granted a one-year private license to continue her work with the software.

“It’s still super new,” Birkmeier said. “I think there’s only four or five companies that have actually implemented it in their supply chain. So, as a student, getting that information and that access was super awesome.”

The 3D designs enable a cut in production time and allow designers to use less fabric.

“Normally when you produce clothing, the lead time to get samples from different countries where you’re producing takes, I think it’s 31 days or something,” Birkmeier said. “Now the lead time is a matter of, like, 30 hours.”

The fashion industry has been having ongoing conversations about how to increase sustainability and students at Kent have previously tried to find inventive ways to answer this question.

“It also incorporates sustainability by reducing fabrics as well as other external costs,” Birkmeier said.

Birkmeier worked with designers for the show to choose which designs to create a model of.

“I met with designers individually,” she said. “We talked about (models) that would really show off not only their designs but as well as my skill in 3D.”

Katie Cartwright, one of the senior co-producers for the show, said the theme toyed with the idea of impressions. Models from each line came out all together on the runway, half-hidden behind a curtain, before walking the runway one at a time.

“The idea being that we all have different perceptions that all plays into how we think, how we perceive, how we interact with one another,” Cartwright said.

The lines ranged from contemporary to more futuristic, high-fashion looks.

One line, called “It’s Got Pockets” by senior design student Colleen Curtis, focused on clothing for young girls. The line featured bright pinks and reds and a mix of fabrics. All of the looks, of course, had pockets.

Another student, Kaycee Marshall, focused her designs on disabled women. The models all came down the runway in wheelchairs wearing long gowns.

For men’s fashion, a number of lines created looks for men ranging from androgynous to classic.

Ella Abbott is a senior reporter. Contact her at [email protected].