Fashion merchandising students engage in new course

A new class for Louisiana Tech University Fashion Merchandising and Retail Studies students has them expressing their creativity in a completely different way.

This past spring quarter, students had the opportunity to take Fashion Illustration and Design, a class born out of collaboration between Instructor Penny Humphries and Assistant Professor Whitney Causey of Louisiana Tech’s School of Design. The course introduces students to the basic elements of visual styling in design, figure drawing, and illustration.

Students focused on the basic structure of the human form, understanding how to convey the fluidity of garments, fabric type, and fit.

“The students are learning how to create various artistic expressions that include the importance of the silhouette, the use of different proportions to visualize archetypes, and character poses that can define action and personality, Humphries said. “They are studying the importance of gesture drawing, basic human proportions, and how contour, weight, and the illusion of volume all play a visual role in creating a fashion figure.”

Students also paid special attention to developing concise and direct ways of simplifying complex human anatomy as well as expressing essential character qualities in their work.

“At the beginning of the course, each student was very nervous about their drawing ability, but as the weeks went by, their fashion sketches began to transform into creative works of art,” Humphries said. “I was amazed how the students progressed, developing their own artistic style and technique to convey their personality, feelings, and opinions.”

The students’ work will be on display at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Fashion Runway Show in the Davison Athletic Complex.