16 The Designers of DHM Final collections will be on display at the Euphoria Fashion Show on April 19, 2024. I did not understand the countless hours, midnight inspirations, coffee runs, and blood, sweat, and tears that students within this program pour out to build their passion projects. Join us as we follow Kaitlin Ayers’ and Presley Turner’s final semester journeys as they build their collections and prepare for the final showcase on April 19. JANUARY The talents of the 2024 cohort leave me in awe, and their inspirations come from everywhere – especially other forms of art. Ayers found the inspiration for her western, coquette-inspired collection from the 1965 classic song by Nancy Sinatra, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” Pulling from feminine empowerment, Ayers used this song to evolve her designs and create a collection that pushes her personal style boundaries. “While a few of the components of my collection are my personal style, many of them are unconventional and elements that one probably wouldn’t wear daily. However, that’s the thing about fashion-it can be fun and experimental. It allows you to think outside the box of day-to-day wear,” said Ayers. As her collection forms, she pulls imagery from vintage and country styles and merges them Design places high emphasis on vision and cutting-edge ideas, but rarely do the cultivators of fashion receive their due when it comes to praise. We as a society praise brands and emerging trends, but how often do we dig to find a face and name to put with that which we praise? In the halls of Nancy Randolph Davis walk visionaries such as those whose journeys to “the top” are just beginning. From my time with senior designers from this year’s Fashion Design cohort, I have been inspired by the ability and creative prowess displayed throughout the journey of completing their senior collections. In 2022, I attended the DHM’s Euphoria Fashion Show, a showcase for OSU’s fashion design program students. I was blown away by the pieces and collections curated throughout the year. However, until I was able to shadow the designers and observe the process from ideation to completion, Photo by Emily West
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