This Saturday, April 22, the Textiles and Apparel (TAPP) department will be showcasing their annual fashion show at Lang Hall Auditorium from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.  This year marks the department’s 25th year with the event, and the theme is “Around the World in 60 Minutes.”  The show is free and open to the public.

The doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the evening will begin with a pre-show, which will focus on what has been happening within the TAPP department throughout the year.  Alumni will also be recognized at that time in order to share how they are using their major, as well as offer advice and encouragement.

“[In Iowa] it’s hard to be successful in this industry,” said Madi Luke, graphic design and TAPP double major who is serving as the promotion director for Saturday’s show.

For Luke, as well as the rest of the promotion team, seeing the alumni is an encouraging time for students who are unsure of the future.

“You can be successful in this major,” Luke said.

At 7 p.m., the actual runway show will begin.  The show will be divided into three different sections: Japan, Egypt and Paris.

“We have Japan, which is what is set aside for nontraditional, and those are the pieces that are more unique,” Luke said. “Then there’s Egypt, which is more streetwear, casual, everyday fashion.  Then we have Paris, which is formal wear. It’s a wide variety.”

Leading up to the show, there are several committees that meet and plan for the event.

A few include the stage committee, promotion committee and a model committee, which is in charge of organizing models to wear the products for the show.

“That [committee] would probably be the most challenging, just because the models are not getting paid, and it’s all volunteer work,” said Abby Burds, junior TAPP major and budget director for the show.

Luke echoes that struggle.

“We have 70 pieces in the show this year, and recruiting models is so hard,” Luke said. “The designers don’t make the clothes for people already in mind; they just make them, and you have to find somebody to fit into it. That’s really difficult.”

APP department invests considerable time and effort into their final fashion show.

“We’re in an actual class to produce the show,” Luke said. “We get credit for it.  The whole goal of the class is just to produce the fashion show for the end of the year.”

Larin Gordon, a senior communication studies major, who serves on the event’s promotion committee. She explained the event’s importance in relation to the class.

“Essentially, it’s like the final,” Gordon said. “It’s what we work the entire semester towards.”

“Our major is unique because we actually learn about the textiles [and] structure of the fabric,” Luke said.

“We learn the science behind it,” said Taylor Pingel, a senior communication studies and TAPP double major, who is also on the promotion committee.

This isn’t the case for every TAPP department at other colleges.  Learning these things is an important part leading up to the show, as the students must design their own fashion line for the event.

Many students within the TAPP department are optimistic and have a vision for the future of their department.  Previously, within the department, students have traveled to New York, which is essentially the hub of the fashion industry, Luke pointed out.

“People got such cool internships out of that,” Luke said. “They got their foot in the door and spoke to people.  They got these big name internships, and that’s because they went out there. I think it’d be good for us to make sure that we’re always making those trips out to NY.”

The promotion committee urged fellow students to attend the show, saying that it will be a good opportunity for students to see what else happens on campus within different majors.

“Support your peers; support other departments,” Gordon said. “Show some respect for the department because they do really cool stuff.”