Bodies of Work

Backstage and behind the scenes of Fashion Without Fabric
April 17, 2018
Kane Le modeling his and Emily Bradley's design "Alis Propiis Volat."
Kane Le modeling his and Emily Bradley's design "Alis Propiis Volat." / UW-Stout

What does it take to be a part of Family Weekend’s Fashion Without Fabric show and competition? This year, each student was a part of the Spring 2018 3D Design course, where they only had two weeks to produce wearables inspired by seven contemporary sculptors.

The students gathered in the Memorial Student Center's Ballrooms on April 7,  for pictures and last-minute touch-ups before walking the runway.

"We had a couple malfunctions here and there," said Kane Le, a junior studying graphic design. 

Le and his partner Emily Bradley, created Alis Propiis Volat, Latin for "She flies with her own wings," inspired by artist Ann Hamilton and her work Corpus.

"[Emily] asked me to model and I was like 'I don't know,'" said Le. "She really didn't want to. She kind of got cold feet."

It was Le's first time modeling and said that it was one of the most challenging parts of the process.

Freshman animation students, Alice O'Brien and Patrick Brunker had another story to tell.

"We made two costumes out of tar and it turns out, we found out two days ago, after we had a decent amount of it done, we were told to scrap it because of the smell," said Brunker.

O'Brien said that the outfit they presented on the runway was finished in a night. The night before the show. Their work Consuming Bellows was inspired by Untitled (Large Bellows) by artist William Kentridge.

Jenna Muckschl, a junior studying graphic design, and Rohan Pathak, a freshman in industrial design, created "Third Means of Egress." They talked about the process of creating and displaying their work, compiled with materials like balsa wood, cardboard, dowels and spray paint.

"It's a lot of no sleep kind of nights," said Pathak. "It's a lot of people running around Applied Arts getting their things sprayed last-minute, things assembled, testing it out. But in the end, everyone's came out altogether."

"We had to be strategic about it," said Muckschl.

Muckschl and Pathak estimated working 30 to 40 hours on their project. They also said they would do it again, especially if they were given more time.

Alice O'Brien and Patrick Brunker putting the final touches on their design "Consuming Bellows" in the MSC Ballrooms before the show.
Alice O'Brien and Patrick Brunker putting the final touches on their design "Consuming Bellows" in the MSC Ballrooms before the show. / UW-Stout

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