Kent State’s annual Fashion Week features a week full of events leading up to the 2025 Annual Fashion Show and Hall of Fame Gala, starting Monday, April 2.

A total of 19 events are scheduled throughout the week to celebrate students’ talents throughout the 2024-25 school year. 

Pearl Heinley, a senior fashion design major and vice president of The Fabric Pantry, has two outfits in the annual show.

“I’m feeling pretty good about my work,” Heinley said. “For me, a lot of these looks are kind of like a retrospective of the past years. I’ve really come into my identity as a designer.”

Heinley’s looks include a knitted mutton-sleeved sweater made from a remade skirt from her junior year and a miniature jacket with military patches she had made while studying abroad in Florence. 

“[Kent] tries so hard to really push student work and give you a space to express yourself and to be proud of yourself,” Heinley said. “The fashion school is very open to new stuff.” 

The opening night of the Annual Fashion Show will take place April 24 at 7 p.m. in Crawford Hall. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

“A lot of my friends have gotten tickets to [show] support,” Heinley said. “We have friends in BFA, friends who are modeling — it’s a lot of fun.”

41 student designers were chosen by a panel of judges to enter the show. Amelia Gardner and Brett Ashley Richter are this year’s student co-producers alongside faculty co-directors Joanna Arnett and Sue Yoder. 

Designers have the opportunity to win multiple awards. Awards will be handed out during the award ceremony after the fashion show on April 25 in Crawford Hall at 7 p.m., with a dessert reception to follow. 

“I feel like fashion week is a really good representation to new or prospective students that you will get a full and amazing fashion experience,” Heinley said. “[Everyone] has internal goals and internal passions. I feel like fashion week propels and really proves that.”

Fashion Week events

• A First Year Visuals Fashion Show will take place April 21 at 9 a.m. in Rockwell Hall. The show highlights designs created by first-year students and is free to the public. The museum will open early to visitors after the show.
• “The Way We Wore: The Evolution of Student Style” will showcase freshman fashion throughout the decades. The exhibition will be displayed in Rockwell Hall, and an opening reception will take place April 21 at 3:45 p.m.
• The opening reception for the fourth annual 3D virtual fashion show will take place April 22 at 5 p.m. in the Blank Lab at the Design Innovation Hub. Students can walk through a free virtual show to see unique designs created with digital design software.
• The “Behind the Scene Fashion Show” April 24 at 10 a.m. in Crawford Hall caters to potential students and offers families an early look at some of the Annual Fashion Show designs. During the event, families will hear from some of the student designers and attend information sessions.
• The 2025 Hall of Fame Gala and induction will celebrate Hall of Fame inductee Donald J. Pliner on April 26 at 6:30 p.m. in Rockwell Hall. Tickets are $250 per person.
• Pliner will host a lecture open to students earlier in the day at 2 p.m. in Rockwell Hall.

For more information, visit Fashion Week’s website.

Aryn Kauble is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].