Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles students, friends and other fashion-inclined students gathered in the back rooms of Beasley Coliseum on April 4 to make last-minute alterations and add final touches to makeup and hair to bring the designers’ visions to life.

The audience matched the models backstage—pearls glued to faces, glitter on cheekbones and eyelids catching the dim pre-show light and the smell of hairspray nearly as oppressive as it was backstage. Family and friends of designers chittered excitedly as they waited for the lights to dim and the music to change. Flower arrangements wrapped in cellophane crinkled, adding a percussive quality to the whispering anticipation.

Every room in the bowls of Beasley was full of models in various stages of makeup, hair and dress. TikToks were filmed and the flash of digital cameras punctuated excited squeals and endless compliments.

In one of the quieter green rooms, Alizee Hargrove, senior fashion and accounting major, sat with her models, who happened to be her siblings and cousins.

“It means a lot to me because I want them to be the first ones to see and wear all my clothes,” Hargrove said.

Her passion for fashion originates from her second major.

“It’s an outlet for my creativity. Accounting is so boring and here I get to design and be fun and do things that people don’t see out there,” she said.

Hargrove’s collection featured throwback inspiration to modernize and breathe new life into the professional clothes she will wear as an accountant.

“I’m growing out of my fashion era and going into my accounting era,” Hargrove said.

Alyss Pinget, senior fashion major and featured designer, looks forward to her evolving fashion career after the show.

“Hopefully I’ll still be designing, being in that creative mindset and still making new things,” Pinget said.

As she stepped out onto the runway to lead her designs around for the last time, she saluted triumphantly. Waiting for her at the end of the runway were her family and friends, holding bouquets out to her and her models.

“It means the world to me. It’s a very special moment of showcasing my designs and it’s like this is my graduation from our degree, so I’m really excited they’re here,” she said.

Family was a strong theme with models, designers and audience members, and every person in Beasley Coliseum that night was there to support the designers. Models directed attention away from themselves and toward their designers.

Jenna Allen, WSU alum and substitute teacher in the Pullman School District, modeled for her boyfriend, Brendan Forgey, senior fashion major and featured designer.

“He wanted to do something more sophisticated. He produces music in his free time and he wanted to incorporate music into it,” Allen said.

She lightly fingered the embroidered treble clefs and music notes on the sweeping waist belt of her white, silky opera gown. The embroidery was done at the Mexican Cultural Center in Seattle, said Leah Grier, another one of Forgey’s models.

“I’ve been able to sit with him while he’s designing, so I get to see how much work goes into it,” Allen said. “He’ll ask me, since he’s a man, ‘What do you like? What do you think of this?’”

Allen’s contribution to Forgey’s collection made her feel closer to him and his creative process.

“I’ll give my input when he has a question about how women like to wear things and it’s fun to have an answer and to help him out,” she said.

Leah Grier, sophomore psychology and human development major, and sophomore psychology major Richie Hinojos are first-year models and friends of Forgey.

“I’ll probably be nervous when I walk out and see people, but it’s just a walk,” Grier said.

“With the amount of preparation time, we’re bound to feel confident,” Hinojos said.

They were dressed and ready, holding the masquerade masks that would complete their formalwear.

“All of these people have made their designs based on what they love,” Hinojos said, looking out at the chaos of final model preparations. “Everyone cares about their outfits. Now is the time for these designers to make the coolest outfits they can.”

And did they ever. The applause never ceased and each designer beamed as they stood at the end of the runway, their hard work hanging off the models behind them. For all of these students, this was the crowning moment of their academic and creative careers—and their family and friends were there to witness these students transition to their final form, solidified forever as creatives and designers.

Award Winners

Sustainability Award: Beatriz Rowena Gonzalez, “Lagrimar”

Most Innovative: Dallas Brynn Martin, “Damfino”

Most Marketable: Toby Taiga Watanabe, “Jet”

Best Technical: Timothy Reynolds, “Time Is Moving”

Department Chair Choice: Kiah Conway, “Garden of Eden”

Associate Dean’s Choice: Kazuki Steinmetz, “Kiai”

Dean’s Choice: Fabian Solano Tovar, “Los Labos”

Best in Show: Bailey Hooper, “Streetwear Revival”