2024 Euphoria Fashion Show culmination of students' work

2024 Euphoria Fashion Show culmination of students' work

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Media Contact: Christy Lang | Manager, Marketing and Communications | 405-744-9740 | [email protected]

More than 350 people gathered at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center for Oklahoma State University's 13th annual Euphoria Fashion Show on April 19.

Students managed every aspect of the show, from planning and marketing the event to designing, constructing and modeling the pieces shown on the runway.

Madelyn Campbell, a fashion design sophomore, was one of 18 students on this year's production team and served as the production's garment chair. After two years of participating in the show, Campbell said she is most proud of getting to support and celebrate her fellow fashion design students.

"I'm going to do it (the fashion show) every single year, and then by the time my senior year gets here, I'll be out of the class, but I'll still be working with the class as a senior making my garments," Campbell said. "By the time my senior year comes, it's going to be even more powerful because I put in so much work for the first three years, and for my final year, so many students will be putting in that work for me."

This collaboration was especially important to Sebastian Arias, one of five seniors who produced a full, runway-ready collection. For Arias' "Around the World" collection, he aimed to capture the heritage of each model he worked with.

Ruth Ziadzi, who grew up and modeled in Ghana before coming to OSU, said she wanted to feel confident in an outfit that reflected traditional African designs.

"He (Arias) wanted our culture and our personal style to reflect in the outfit," Ziadzi said. "Back home, I've never had a designer call me to collaborate with me on an outfit. This is a new experience and I really enjoyed it. I feel like part of me is in this dress, too."

Ziadzi won this year's Best Female Model award. There were also awards for Best Male Model and Outstanding Sophomore, Junior and Senior cotton designs. Seniors competed for Most Marketable Garment and Best Constructed Garment, which was awarded to Arias' Ghana design.

Kaitlyn Ayers' "Made for Walking" collection won Best Constructed Collection and Best Overall Senior Collection. Ayers said she drew inspiration from Nancy Sinatra's song - "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" - and the growing popularity of Western-inspired designs. She said she wanted her design to embrace femininity, female empowerment and fringe.

With only weeks to go until graduation, Ayers said winning some of the show's top awards was a greater testament to her four years of work at OSU than a diploma alone could ever be.

"I've been dreaming about this for four years, ever since I came here and saw what the seniors put in (in the show) my freshman year," Ayers said. "Just seeing what they put in my freshman year and being like, 'I have no idea how they did that,' and now being on the other side of it and being like, 'I could do this.'

"It's just so rewarding. I feel like I've come full circle."

As Ayers, Arias and the other fashion seniors took their final walk on Euphoria's runway, underclassmen were already beginning work on next year's show, scheduled for April 25, 2025.

"We'll have class one more time on a Tuesday night for an hour," Campbell said. "We'll go over the pros and the cons and what to improve for the next one. And then you'll start working."

Next spring, Campbell plans to take the Fashion Show Production class (DM4010) one more time before spending her senior year designing her own collection. She said getting to work with judges and the production team will help her design a compelling collection, but she was most excited about getting a chance to celebrate her identity alongside her peers.

"It really isn't just an outfit for us, especially with how extravagant they are," Campbell said. "It's our personality; it's our history; it's our background. It may sound so silly to some, but it is a true passion of what we do."

2024 Euphoria Fashion Show Award Winners

• Top Female Model: Ruth Ziadzi
• Top Male Model: Pumudu Welikanna
• Outstanding Sophomore: Emily Bass
• Outstanding Junior: Makenna Bayer
• Outstanding Senior: Kaitlyn Ayers
• Most Marketable Garment Senior: Lauren Selman - Ruby
• Best Construction Senior Collection: Kaitlyn Ayers
• Outstanding Garment: Sebastian Arias - Ghana
• Outstanding Collection: Kaitlyn Ayers

Story By: Jessica Pearce | [email protected]

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