High school students from across Washington state filled the Ensminger Pavilion Friday for the third annual Business in Fashion conference, hosted by the Department of Apparel Merchandising, Design and Textiles.

The conference, which sold out in two hours, connected creative high school students with faculty and staff from Spokane Falls Community College, Gonzaga and WSU in an interactive five-hour program aimed at providing the students with insight into all aspects of the fashion industry.

This year’s theme was “creating sustainable futures in the business of fashion.” “We tried to make it interactive and a fun experience for students while still providing some education about the importance of being green in our industry,” said Karen Leonas, chair of the AMDT department. “Sustainability is so critical to our industry right now.” At the conference, students worked in groups on creative projects that provided hands-on learning. Staff tried to engage the students and make them aware of the different career opportunities in the fashion industry. “It’s not just being a shop girl,” Leonas said. “The business is very diverse and multi-faceted, and to be successful you have to understand the process from concept to consumer.” The workshops showed students different angles of the fashion industry. The “Visual Flow Analysis” workshop gave high school students the opportunity to critique WSU student designs on the basis of cohesiveness and overall flow. Students also worked with fabric scraps to learn how shape and texture can be used to alter a body form or silhouette. “Identifying Fashion Trends” introduced students to fashion forecasting. Associate AMDT Professor Joan Ellis explained how social, ethnic, economic and political changes affect the fashion industry. “How many Obama T-shirts did you see a couple of years ago?” she asked students. “It was a really big deal.” Christi Harter, coordinator of career and technical education in Spokane Public Schools, created the yearly event in 2008 for high school fashion students. For the first two years, the only students involved were from Spokane Public Schools, due to the size of the facility at SFCC. This year, invitation was extended to apparel and textiles students around the state. About 180 students came from 10 different high schools.

While some students used the conference as a get-out-of-school-free card, others came to learn more about what the fashion industry has to offer.

“I’m a little disappointed that a lot of people are here just to get out of school, but I’m actually really interested,” said Collin Fitzgerald, a junior from Ferris High School. “I want to find out more about the programs here.”