The Fashion Event

The Fashion Event invites audiences to experience exceptional fashion and innovative apparel design at Auburn University’s premier student fashion showcase. The event features original creations by the next generation of fashion designers and merchandisers.

Organized by the Department of Consumer and Design Sciences (CADS) and the Apparel Merchandising and Design Association (AMDA), The Fashion Event is recognized as one of the leading college-level fashion productions in the nation. Every garment presented is designed, created, and styled by students, showcasing the creativity and innovation that contribute to the Apparel Merchandising and Design programs’ continued recognition as the #1 Public Fashion Design School in the South and the #2 Public Fashion Merchandising School in the South (2024).

Held each spring, this highly anticipated student-led fashion production presents a wide range of CADS student work, including visual merchandising displays, e-portfolio exhibitions, creative scholarship design exhibitions, visual fashion presentations, and a full runway show.

Since its founding in 2011, the event has grown from a small production to a signature creative platform that connects students with industry professionals through internships, networking opportunities, andcareer developments. All runway collections are featured in the Fashion Event Look Book, a coffee-table style publication that highlights the designers, their collections, and the inspiration behind the year’s theme.

The year 2026 marks the 15th anniversary of the College of Human Sciences Department of Consumer and Design Sciences’ (CADS) annual Fashion Event, produced in partnership with the Auburn Apparel Merchandising & Design Association (AMDA). Auburn’s CADS–AMDA Fashion Event is one of the premier college-level productions in the nation and represents the culmination of the department’s year-long creative and academic efforts. The event celebrates student talent and reflects the program’s collective commitment to innovation, excellence, and continued growth as a highly ranked program.

This year’s theme, Full Circle, celebrates the ever-turning cycle of fashion, where the past informs the present and the future echoes what came before. Just as trends rise, fade, and return, fashion demonstrates its timeless nature, enduring as long as the people who shape it. The 2026 show highlights this cyclical rhythm of style, reminding us that, in fashion, everything eventually comes full circle.

We invite you to take a look through some of our recent Fashion Event experiences. 

Students interested in participating in The Fashion Event Planning class must complete a selective application process, describing the skills and abilities they would bring to the planning team. Once selected, students are organized into working committees responsible for key areas of the production, including decoration, creative design, public relations and social media, modeling coordination, styling, fundraising, and media.

This hands-on experience provides aspiring designers and merchandisers with valuable insight into the planning and execution of a professional fashion show before they graduate. Year after year, students describe the course as an invaluable learning opportunity that combines creativity, collaboration, and real-world industry preparation. In 2022 and 2023, The Fashion Event was nominated for The Most Entertaining Campus Event at Auburn University. In 2024, The Fashion Event was awarded for The Most Excellent Campus Event.