Runway Prepared: Manner Design and style students fired up to exhibit their collections: Harper University

Just about every spring semester, Harper Faculty Fashion Style and design students create a “senior collection” as their capstone project. This year, one particular of
the senior style students is a senior citizen.

Dawn Emrath retired from her instructing career in Barrington in 2019. With two grown daughters
and some extra time on her arms, she thought it would be exciting to consider a stitching course
at Harper. She obtained hooked.

“I signed up for the newbie sewing course,” explained Dawn, 66. “I loved it so a great deal,
I just kept likely with it.”

3 yrs (and a lot of manner classes) later on, Dawn has been operating to put the ending
touches on her layout collection for the Trend Style Studio class. It is the culmination
of newly acquired skills, a qualifications in sewing and an educational journey she did not
recognize she was commencing with that 1st class.

Dawn is fired up about viewing her selection walk the runway at Harper’s Scholar Trend Display – Enigma, 1 and 8 p.m. Friday, Could 20, in the Executing Arts Heart. She talked about the selection
– which is red, white and black and options geometric emblems of distinctive sizes
– as a harmony concerning what she introduced to the courses and what she acquired.

“I understood a lot, but I also learned a lot,” Dawn reported. “For my assortment, I did a ton
of laser cutting, which I didn’t know something about [before enrolling]. It also has
a large amount of quilting and I have been quilting for a extensive time. And I built some prints,
which I experienced never ever accomplished right before.”

In the meantime, Harper’s total Style Research section is undertaking some thing they haven’t done in a when: web hosting an in-man or woman,
on-campus exhibit at the conclusion of the academic year. Thanks to COVID-19 safety protocols,
the yearly demonstrate (led by Fashion Merchandising learners) went digital in 2020 and 2021. Nupur Sharma, associate professor and plan
coordinator for the division, is thrilled to convey the electrical power of a reside occasion again
to Harper.

“It’s not only the electricity during the efficiency, but major up to that. It’s the
time when the department comes jointly – the instructors, the Manner Style college students
mingling with the Trend Merchandizing pupils,” she said. “Relationships make a difference
as much as your very own layouts in this business. You can’t do this in a bubble.”

Yet another adult Style Style student, Julia Gawron, echoed Nupur’s feelings. Established to
graduate with her affiliate diploma this semester, she’s by now conversing about coming
back to go to instructor Beata Kania and examine out the continuing artistic work at
Harper.

Julia, 40, delayed her education when she was a stay-at-dwelling mom to her two daughters.
Increasing up as the youngster of two painters in Poland (she arrived to the U.S. in 2005),
Julia understood that she wanted to do some thing in the arts. Looking at American fashion in
her new home assisted condition her long run.

“I didn’t know what medium to decide to express myself. I came to the U.S., and I was not
content with the stage of fashion I was looking at,” Julia mentioned. “Once my young children went to university,
it was time to do something for myself.”

These days, Julia’s been generating an outerwear collection that mixes fur, knitwear and
leather-based while remaining impressed by Japanese style and surrealism. Like Dawn, she just cannot
wait around for her relatives and buddies to come see her get the job done in the show.

Reflecting on her a few years at Harper – and numerous hrs of sewing – Julia expressed
gratitude for the college associates who served shape her artistry.

“The instructors or so knowledgeable,” Julia reported. “They’re often encouraging you
to do better and extra.”

Dawn agreed though beaming about a new enthusiasm that commenced with 1 stitching course.

“This is not what I envisioned, and it’s been just magnificent for me individually,” Dawn
claimed. “I had no idea that Harper was likely to have this sort of a good program with modest
course sizes. And the professors… I just just cannot say more than enough about them.”