If you were to put yourself in the shoes of fashion class students from ten years ago, you might’ve found yourself walking a runway. On March 13 of 2013, FACS teacher Erin Hagglund and her students from her Fashion and Design Merchandising class and students in Fashion Construction 1, 2 and 3 hosted an evening fashion show themed Day and Night with their own prom redesigns and borrowed dresses from the Camille La Vie dress shop. 

 “The students planned and executed the whole thing themselves. My fashion design and merchandising students came up with a theme, they came up with an emcee, and they did everything from start to finish. We researched how to put on a fashion show and I was their mentor, facilitator if you will, and they did all that work,” she said.

The show also had external benefits as all proceeds—ranging from $0 with clothing donation to $5 at the door—were donated to Dress For Success, a non-profit organization that works to help women around the world achieve economic independence. 

With the first show in 2009, Hagglund has had lunch, evening and district fashion shows as part of her curriculum.

“When we started it was during lunchtime when I had first started teaching here and the idea was to promote students to take fashion construction,” Hagglund said. “It was also to celebrate student success and showcase what they had made for friends and family to come see it.”

Fashion shows are entirely determined by student interest to host a show, which is one of the reasons there hasn’t been a fashion show every year. The last show students took part in planning was the 2019 Rockwood Fashion Show before the pandemic.

“Our district fashion show was my favorite because it involved kids from all of the high schools and it really was a good showcase for students that were in the beginning level classes but then also all the creativity and what our students are capable of,” she said.

Though there hasn’t been a Lafayette fashion show since 2015, Hagglund said she hopes to bring it back either this year or in years to come. She said her students seem interested in the idea, but there has yet to be an official decision as to whether or not the show will happen. 

“I know my students are super talented, but sometimes I don’t think people realize that we really make things that you can wear,” Hagglund said.