Anna Schwulst/The Falcon “Project Red Dress” is displaying designer gowns like this one at Macy’s in downtown Seattle.

Fashion plays a role in many people's lives, but here at SPU, there are students majoring in apparel design or fashion merchandising who take it to the next level. There is also a small group of people who see fashion as a large part of their lives and future who belong to Fashion Group, a club led by senior Devon Poer with about fifteen or so members, member and senior Heather Cozad said.

Jaeil Lee, the head clothing and textiles professor, nominated two seniors and members of Fashion Group, Cozad and Caitlin Stone, to participate in Macy's "Project Red Dress" held on Jan. 25. It was an event where college students made a red dress in a limited time frame to later present in a runway show, hosted by Macy's, to benefit the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" movement.

There was a total of 12 contestants, two students from each of the six participating schools, including the Art Institute of Seattle, Seattle Central Community College and the New York Fashion Academy in Ballard. The participants were given 16 hours and $200 to make a red dress out of scratch with no diagrams or help of any kind.

"I feel as though this experience helped me to see that I will not only be competent, but successful, once I enter into the fashion industry," Stone said of her experience. "I was excited to be able to utilize the skills I have learned in apparel draping and construction from my courses here at SPU. Sixteen hours is a very limited amount of time to design and construct a dress...especially for students who have had limited experience."

courtesy of Heather Cozad Senior Caitlin Stone (center) stands on the runway by a model (left) wearing the dress she designed for “Project Red Dress.”

"It was a really great experience, knowing I can make a dress out of scratch," Cozad said.

After the dresses were complete, there was a runway show with professional models inside of Macy's downtown location with about 470 people in attendance, Cozad said.

"The actual event was much more professional and grand than I had assumed. It was truly a top-line fashion show in every way," Stone said.

The dresses were judged on construction, fit and design. The winner of the event was Karly Orr from the New York Fashion Academy.

All dresses were then held on display at Macy's (3 Pine St.), some even in an outside display window. Though most of them have now been taken down, some can still be seen on display.

During the event, Cozad said she and Stone had the privilege of meeting editors of the Seattle Metropolitan Magazine and Seattle's very own Luly Yang, a famous fashion designer celebrated especially for her grand evening ensembles and elegant bridal gowns.

Cozad explained that "Project Red Dress" is going to be an annual event from now, and SPU students can look forward to it in years to come.

According to Poer, the Fashion Group also has a lot in store for the future at SPU as they try to stabilize the club. It was close to dissolving at the beginning of the year, she said.

"The new group of officers [has] taken on the task of restructuring the group and [has] made it our goal to re-establish the club with a positive reputation on campus," she said.

With this restructuring come several events.

Previously, in the fall, Fashion Group held an on-campus clothing drive where they were able to collect around 300 pounds of clothing which was donated to charity, Poer said.

They are expecting to hold more clothing drives and also a fashion charity show on May 9 in Upper Gwinn, which Cozad is planning. Cozad explained that there will be four themes at the show: fashion as military and power, fashion as an environmental cause, fashion as culture and religious significance and fashion as protest and awareness.

"People think fashion is really superfluous," Cozad said. "This is to show how the fashion industry is important in our lives."

Poer also confirmed that they are working with Urban Fashion Network (http://urbanfashionnetwork.com) and intend to host an on-campus designer sample sale in the spring, which will have some off-campus designers come and sell samples from their spring lines.

New members are welcomed to the club, Poer said. She said that her goal is to motivate students to get involved.

Fashion Group has a Web site at http://spufashiongroup.blogspot.com. This is where group members let each other know what is going on with the group and post about future events.

The Web site also features the group's vote for most fashionable student at SPU, something Fashion Group does every quarter. Poer explained that sophomore Grace Choi was elected to takes photos of students around campus whom she sees as fashionable. Afterwards, the group members vote on whom they agree to be the most fashionable for the quarter.

"Winter quarter has still not been voted on," Poer said.