Bright red lipstick and large-framed glasses are soon to be synonymous with Bethany Hall.
The senior apparel design major has created several ensembles that will be on display for Ball State students at an upcoming series of fashion shows. Models with bright red lips and large glasses will be sporting each design.
The style is Hall's way of creating a unique aesthetic associated with her work.
"When you're in a fashion show with a bunch of designers, I think it's especially important to do something to kind of set yourself apart," she said. "I just thought [the glasses] were fun and maybe a little bit silly, and I wanted to insert an element of playfulness in my design. I thought they would be a really great combination of making it cohesive and playful at once."
SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION
Hall is in a fashion promotions class and is a talent leader for the class's student-run company, Raw Edge Productions.
REP teaches students how to market their apparel once they've designed it. This year, students in the class have decided to host a weekend of fashion events called From the Streetlights to the Spotlight. REP is also doing a week of promotions to advertise the fashion shows, including makeovers and trivia.
The first show will take place 7 p.m. on Friday at Cardinal Hall in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center and will highlight students' casual designs reminiscent of the streetlight. From 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday, students will have designs on display at Late Nite. The final show will take place 4 p.m. on Sunday at Cornerstone Center for the Arts, featuring the formal designs of "the spotlight."
Prices of the shows vary, and proceeds will go to A Better Way in Muncie, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Niki Fitzgerald, a case manager for the organization, said most of A Better Way's funding comes from grants and donations.
Hall said she is the person who recommended REP support the not-for-profit.
"Part of the reason we chose that charity is because at the beginning of the semester, we had to do self-introductions and we had to talk about our fashion philosophy," she said. "The women in particular were talking about just how fashion is meant to make you feel good and confident and comfortable."
A Better Way allowed the class an opportunity to connect its fashion philosophy to a relevant cause, Hall said.
INSPIRED
Hall explained one of her favorite trends has been the theme of masculinity and femininity in clothing.
"You've got trends of lace and shear - those things that are really light and feminine," she said. "Also, those things that are really drapey as tops. There's a feminine feel to that. But then you also see trends like military jackets, or leather has been big for a while. So I like that kind of mixture that's going on in culture today, where women are like, 'Are we feminine? Are we masculine? Whatever! We're just going to do it all.'"
This trend also corresponds with REP's overall theme of female empowerment.
Because much of Hall's work has a more formal tone, her designs will be a part of Sunday's show.
The designer said much of the inspiration for her work has come from lanterns and the ways in which they cast light.
"If you walk around campus, almost all of our academic buildings have little lanterns outside the door," she said. "They're all different, but they all have some similar structure to them as far as having parallel lines and then some sort of top that comes to a peak and then some sort of bottom that comes to another peak. So I wanted to focus on that structure in my studio."
CHANGING TRENDS
Hall said when she was in high school she did not always appreciate fashion and didn't necessarily know she wasn't to go into apparel design. However, through her education at Ball State, she has developed a new mindset.
"I used to see fashion as having some evil side to it - as being overly materialistic," Hall said. "I hated trends. I hated the fact that we followed them and that we can be so pigeonholed in the clothes that we wear. I guess that my train of thought has matured out of this 'Oh, this is all 100 percent evil and wrong' to 'Well, there's a reason for this.' And as a designer, you have to consider those trends and you have to be relevant."
With only a week left to prepare for From Streetlights to Spotlights, Hall still has to finalize details with stylists, models and musicians. She must also prepare herself and the ensembles she is showing. Yet, despite the stress and workload, she said she is looking forward to the shows.
"This is probably the most important fashion event of the year as far as Ball State goes," she said. "This is a big deal is what I'm saying."
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EVENTS THIS WEEK
Monday: Makeover Monday
Where: Bracken Library
When: 4 to 6 p.m.
What: Students in the library will be treated to makeovers
Tuesday: Tickets and Trivia
Where: Scramble Light
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
What: Passing students will be asked trivia questions in exchange for prizes
Wednesday: Stylish Surprise
Where: The Atrium
When: Either 11:50 a.m. or 12:50 p.m.
What: You'll have to show up to see
Thursday: Ticket Sales
Where: The Atrium
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cost: Presale is $7 for one show or $12 for both shows. At the door, $10 each show
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