Apparel design and merchandising majors will display their original collections at the Apparel Design and Merchandising Spring Showcase Saturday.

The showcases are at 3 and 7 p.m. in the Reich College of Education.

For the showcase, the designs are separated into four categories: garments created in the apparel construction class, original designs created in a flat patterning class, collections by senior designers and collections by independent designers.

The showcase is a huge event for the apparel design and merchandising majors.

“I think a lot of people, when they hear ‘fashion major,’ they think it’s like in ‘The Hills,’ and it’s not like that at all,” said junior apparel design and merchandising major McKenzie Welch.  “For the seniors, this showcase is the big event. It’s usually a full house.”

“Some people have actually gone to New York City to get fabric from Mood for the show,” Welch said.  Mood is a fabric company that sells prints that have been featured on the reality show Project Runway and is well-known among designers.

Welch will show four designs for adults and one she designed for her 12-year-old sister to model at Saturday’s show.

She described her collection as “grunge and bohemian.”

“Everyone has their own taste and their own look, and that’s what makes it so special,” Welch said.

Students in the visual merchandising class do most of the preparation for the showcase.

“We do everything from the PR to the lighting,” Welch said.  “We do everything you would do in the real world putting on a fashion show.”

The showcase will also include standing exhibits.

Tickets for the showcase cost $5 and there are 250 tickets reserved for each time slot of the showcase.

Story: EMMA SPECKMAN, A&E Reporter

Photo: MARK KENNA, Intern Photographer