Huntsville, Ala – The Huntsville Museum of Art Guild is currently hosting Fashion Fusion Face-off, a mini-Project Runway-style competition between emerging fashion designers (students) from the University of Alabama and Auburn University. The Guild introduced the competition in conjunction with the Huntsville Museum of Art’s upcoming blockbuster exhibition Folk Couture: Fashion and Folk Art, set to open April 8.
The exhibition is coming from the American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) in New York City, and the Guild is hosting the opening cocktail event Thursday, April 7, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Four emerging designers from Alabama and four from Auburn have each created an original piece of couture inspired by art from the Huntsville Museum of Art’s collection. These artworks and more are on view now in the exhibition Down Home: Contemporary Southern Masters. The original couture pieces will be on display in the same gallery as Down Home March 29–April 7, leading into the opening event for Folk Couture.
The Guild’s concept was based on the same idea implemented by AFAM for Folk Couture. AFAM invited 13 emerging and established designers to creatively respond to works from its permanent collection, resulting in 13 original ensembles, which will be on view alongside the artworks which inspired them in Folk Couture: Fashion and Folk Art.
The Guild also selected local alumni “celebrities” from Auburn and Alabama and paired them with each of the designers to raise money in the name of their universities. Donations to the alumni celebrities will be totaled, and a cash award will be donated to the design department of the university whose “celebrities” bring in the most money.
Auburn alumni celebrities include Bob Broadway, The Broadway Group; Cole Cubelic, host of Cube Show, WUMP; Lauren Mosley Haney; and Davis Reed, Murphree and Reed Dental. Alabama celebrities include Amanda Hamner; Chris Lindsey, Bryant Bank; Kim Minkinow; Wes Neighbors, Neighbors Wealth Management Group and The Drive on 97.7 The Zone.
In addition to supporting the Huntsville Museum of Art and the winning university, cash prizes will also be awarded to the winning student designer and crowd favorite designer. The public may donate in the name of an alumni celebrity and vote for a favorite designer at www.FashionFusionFaceOff.com. The winners will be announced during the opening cocktail event to be held at the Museum, which will include food catered by Lyn’s Gracious Goodness, an open bar, models, and entertainment by The Sweeplings, who will debut their new album. Tickets can be purchased on the museum’s website at www.hsvmuseum.org.
Museum admission beginning Friday, April 8, through June 26 with the exhibition Folk Couture: Fashion and Folk Art will be FREE for members and children 5 and under; $12 for adult nonmembers; $10 for military, students, teachers, and seniors with a valid ID; $5 for children ages 6 and up and students; and $8 per person for groups of 10 or more. For more information, visit www.hsvmuseum.org or call 256-535-4350.
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