By Chelsea Carroll

Students were able to spring into fashion with creativity and expertise last Wednesday night at “Fashionably Loud” in the West Addition of the Curry Student Center.

“There is definitely an artsy and creative feel here,” said Michelle Landry, a sophomore physical therapy major. “I enjoyed watching the designers work to the non-pop music.”

The event, part of Springfest week, was a student version of the MTV show with the same name.

Hosted by sophomore nursing major Janet Actis and sophomore criminal justice major Tiffany Malcolm, both Council for University Programs members, the event had four groups which consisted of two designers and one model.

“The outfits were very creative [and] really professional,” Malcolm said.

Each team of three had an hour to create the most impressive outfit out of the material randomly handed out at the event: scissors, duct tape, needle, thread and small buttons. Winners received a $150 travel voucher to split between the group.

The bags of material distributed to the contestants were filled with assorted fabrics of different textures, colors and floral printed fabrics.

The end products varied from an Arabian-inspired look with a bandanna and “chaps,” to a sophisticated Banana Republic-type business wear.

Despite differences in the outfits, the groups had a similar idea of what spring time apparel was about with their outfits.

On stage, the models appeared in a variety of popular clothing pieces including tube tops, flowing layered skirts, thick head bands, vests, capris and bunched sleeveless tops.

When time was up, the audience chose the winner by cheering for the design they liked the most. After the applause died down, it was clear the group who created a tube top, black and yellow flowing dress, with a white trim, won the competition.

Freshman graphic design major Kristen Schue, freshman psychology major Jessica Barry-Kennedy, and freshman international business major Martina Hahn said they designed the dress in hopes of creating a sexy and formal look for spring.

Schue said she has been designing clothes for as long as she can remember and is happy with the outcome.

“We are extremely satisfied with our design and it turned out just as great as we hoped,” Schue sad. “I would love to wear this dress.”

The girls agreed that spring time is filled with fun colors, light layers and designs.

“If you take pastels and mix them with a little black, you can create an overall more sophisticated and formal look,” Hahn said.