Those who want to see exceptional feats of fashion and energetic apparel design are invited to experience The Fashion Event - Auburn University’s premier fashion showcase featuring creations by the next generation of fashion designers and merchandisers. The annual Fashion Event, cosponsored by the College of Human Sciences Department of Consumer and Design Sciences (CADS) and the Auburn Apparel Merchandising and Design Association (AMDA), is one of the top college-level productions in the nation. Every garment presented is designed, created, and styled by students and reflects Auburn’s Apparel Merchandising and Design programs’ consistent national rankings, #1 Public Fashion Design school in the South and #2 Public Fashion Merchandising school in the South for 2022.

The highly anticipated, student-run event is held every Spring and showcases an array of CADS’ student work including visual merchandising vignettes, e-portfolio exhibitsfor apparel design, apparel merchandising, interior design and philanthropy and non-profit studies, interior design displays and, of course, a runway show. World-famous DJ CoCo (Andrew Thorp) – who has provided the music for high fashion runway shows in New York, Paris, Milan and London – attends every year.

2023 will mark the 12th anniversary of The Fashion Event! Back in 2011, the event was founded by the newly formed AMDA and planned with a budget of only $300. Since then, attendance nears 900 and it has become widely known as Auburn’s premier creative showcase of student work, connecting apparel students with the industry’s best internships and job placements. All designs are featured in The Fashion Event Look Book, which is available online for preorder on The Fashion Event website. The Look Book was a new feature in 2021, a coffee table style book and guide to the year’s designers, their designs, and deeper meanings of the year’s theme.

Because of the commitment and creativity of our apparel students, The Fashion Event has become a highly anticipated, annual showcase of the fashion-forward work of future industry leaders. Selected students submit applications with their top three areas of expertise and are chosen to participate in an elective, three-credit hour course that spans two semesters and requires innumerable hours of out-of-classroom work to plan The Fashion Event each year.

Students interested in participating in The Fashion Event Planning class must complete a selective application process where they describe the skills and abilities that would make them a valuable addition to the planning team. The students are then divided into working groups tasked with decorating, creative design, public relations/social media, modeling, styling, Look Book/fundraising, and media for the event.

Year after year, students have said The Fashion Event is an invaluable experience for aspiring apparel designers and merchandisers, offering them the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of a design show before they even graduate. In 2022 and 2023, The Fashion Event has been nominated for “The Most Entertaining Campus Event” for Auburn University.