01/25/08

With satin gowns, summer dresses, kilts and tuxedos handmade by students, this year’s Apparel Construction and Design interterm class had an added twist.

Last Friday, Sandy Davidson, Student Academic Services tutoring coordinator, decided to integrate a new idea into the traditional “Baker Project Runway.” Instead of focusing on apparel used only for the students, they made outfits for animals.

“I had a student last year that decided to make her dog an outfit to match hers, and it ended up being the showstopper of the entire fashion show,” Davidson said. “This year, I wanted everyone to get into that because I thought it would be fun to try something a little unusual.”

Whether a student had little or no experience with sewing, the class was able to set the pace for everyone’s individual needs.

“This interterm was a little different because I originally had only 12 students signed up, then five more added so I was a little nervous of how I would be teaching 17 students to sew,” Davidson said. “It actually worked out great because out of the 17 students, there were a couple that had already had background experience with sewing and were able to help me with the rest of the class.”

Junior Darcey Nance said she had never sewn before, but Davidson made it easy to catch on.

“I had so much fun taking this interterm because it was something I had never tried before, and it ended up being such an amazing learning experience for me,” she said. “I chose to make a formal dress for myself and a matching one for my dog, which I thought was a great idea to tie in animals to the fashion show.”

For the fashion show itself, the students modeled what they made over the three-week course, in addition to what they chose to make for their animal.

Edrie Swanson, executive assistant to the president, was one of four elected judges to compare and contrast the different ideas of each of the students.

“We based our judging on four separate categories: construction, quality, material used and the pet’s costume,” she said. “It was so much fun seeing what everyone came up with.”

Freshman Ashley Tetuan took first, while freshman Leila Novelo and junior Ari Penner took second and third, respectively. Swanson said she was so impressed with the creativity, and that the whole experience was something she will never forget.

“What I thought was so exciting was to see the really genuine interest the students had in being imaginative,” she said. “I thought incorporating the animals was such a clever idea because it was something that had never been done before, and it probably created a lot more interest in what the students originally chose to make.”

Having such an overall success with the interterm and the “Baker Project Runway,” Davidson said she couldn’t wait to teach this class again.

“I absolutely love teaching this class. I hardly sleep the night before because I get so excited,” she said. “It’s all of the creative energy that goes into the making of the outfits that really makes me smile, and I would not have it any other way.”