Students in the Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design put the final touches on their designs last week for the Nov. 15 Project Funway event to benefit Fresh Start.
Inspired by Project Runway, a reality TV show about apparel designers, Project Funway is Fresh Start’s largest fundraiser of the year and benefits women in the Lincoln community needing housing and services because of homelessness. Project Funway 2024 begins at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 15, at the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel. Advance tickets can be purchased online for $65 for general admission and $85 for VIP.
The 2024 edition of Project Funway marks the 14th year of the collaboration, which was a concept developed by Barbara Trout, professor emerita in apparel design, and Monica Zinke, executive director of Fresh Start.
“The opportunity provides students with a meaningful service-learning experience that uses fashion to create positive outcomes directly impacting our community,” Sandra Starkey, associate professor in textiles, merchandising and fashion design, said. “Through our collaboration with Fresh Start, students impact the lives of homeless women. Broadly speaking my goal as a professor is to help students understand first-hand the power of fashion to create awareness of and promote positive change, both locally and globally.”
Designs at Project Funway are created from upcycled materials. Students utilize previously owned, second-hand clothing and textiles to transform garments into innovative outcomes to extend the life cycle of discarded clothing and textiles, which aligns with Department’s mission to teach about and promote sustainability.
This year’s event will feature 45 to 50 total garments, including at least one full ensemble created by 35 department students. Fifteen students from TMFD 216 – Apparel Design by Flat Pattern, and three students from the spring 2024 course Experimental Apparel Design, will be among the featured designers. Natalie Olinske, a first-year graduate student in the department, is one of 17 students from TMFD 403 – Apparel Design by Draping taking part in Project Funway.
“I’m pretty excited,” Olinske said. “I’ve done a lot of sewing for competitions before because I’m a competitive craftsman, but this will be my first time having one of my pieces on the runway. I’m also really glad it’s focused on upcycled materials.”
There will also be 10 community designers, including five from ECHO Collective, an organization that connects and empowers refugee and immigrant women by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills.
“The event is a runway show of one-of-a-kind designs created from thrifted clothing,” Zinke said. “We could not have a successful event without the partnership and involvement of these students and coordination by Dr. Starkey.”
Fresh Start is a transitional program with a mission to empower women experiencing homelessness to change their lives by recognizing and using their strengths to overcome barriers to self-sufficiency. The organization provides a holistic program that includes basic needs, case management, advocacy, and more. Learn more at freshstarthome.org.
