Residents with a passion for fashion — look no further. The Office of Residence Life will host its own fashion show challenge à la “Project Runway” at 7 p.m. today in Currier Hall.
“As far as I know, this is the first event of its kind,” said Allison Allmon, the graduate programming assistant for Residence Life.
The event features a three-phase competition in which designers have 10-15 minutes to create a theme outfit to be modeled on the mock runway. The designs will be scored by a panel of three judges.
“I don’t want to give away too much,” Allmon said. “But one of the challenges involves a Hawkeye theme.”
After each round, designers will be eliminated until the top three have been selected. Those three designers will receive Iowa City/Coralville community gift certificates. The designer with the highest total points will be declared the winner and will receive a $100 gift certificate.
But the competition isn’t limited to the designers. Audience members will have the opportunity to participate in mini-challenges throughout the competition, designing such small objects as masks or visors. And because of time restraints, no sewing will be necessary.
“There won’t just be fabric, but all kinds of different materials will be used,” Allmon said. Designers will use duct tape or safety pins to hold their outfits together.
But Allmon is unsure whether the fashion show will go on because of a lack of interested designers.
“We advertised last week and this week,” she said. “But so far we have only had two designers sign up. We want a minimum of five to make the event a success.”
Allmon said she will accept participants until 2 p.m. today, and those wanting to compete should e-mail her before then. Designers will need to provide their own models.
UI freshman Paxton Bahr is one of the two designers currently registered to participate in the competition. The pre-nursing major has been interested in fashion for some time, having designed her own line of clothing for herself and her friends. Bahr noticed advertisements for the fashion show in the dining halls.
“We had a similar type of fashion show at my high school,” she said. “Our challenge was to make an outfit out of recycled material. I made one out of Pepsi cans and plastic bags and won first place.”
Allmon and the other Residence Life staff members have been busy planning additional events as well. On Thursday, Residence Life will also host an event called “Busted: Navigating the Red Tape,” a panel discussion about hall policies on campus.
“In the beginning of the year, we do more social gathering types of events, such as the fashion show,” Allmon said.
Besides providing an artistic outlet, she said, the show is a good way to connect with other students living in the residence halls.
“It’s a great way to express creativity and meet new people,” she said.