Tomorrow’s clothing designers will display the fashions of the future in the annual Textiles, Merchandising and Design Runway Show.

The event is slated for 7 p.m. Saturday, April 11, in Room 221 of MTSU’s Learning Resources Center. General admission tickets are $25. VIP seating is $50. A campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParking14-15.

Senior students in the TXMD program will create clothes to fit the Space Age theme of “Cosmic Couture” and the three subthemes of “Cyberpunk,” “Space Odyssey” and “After Earth.”

“The biggest thing that a student’s going to take from this class, I hope, is how to work in a group the way they’re going to have to work when they get in the industry,” said Rick Cottle, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Sciences.

“I’m excited about the fashion show because I get to put a collection in it,” said Abby Barham, a senior from Jackson, Tennessee.

“I just want it to be really crazy but also natural at the same time and giving that overall ‘space’ look,” added Ashley Rivera, a senior from Newport, Tennessee, who will be applying makeup on some of the models.

The runway show is a prelude to Middle Tennessee Fashion Week at MTSU sponsored by the student organization Fashion and Design Students, or FADS.

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, April 13, FADS will present “The Fashion Exchange” pop-up shop in the LRC lobby. Gently used clothing donated by TXMD students will be on sale for $1 per item. Both cash and credit cards will be accepted.

The “Student and Alumni Trunk Show” will offer clothing items made by TXMD students and alumni from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, in the LRC lobby. Cash is preferred, but some vendors may accept credit cards.

Local fashion industry professionals will speak about their careers in a panel discussion slated for 6 p.m. Thursday, April 16, in Room S102 of the Business and Aerospace Building. A brief question-and-answer session will follow.

Panelists will include Christy Sanford of Greenhouse Ministries; Jake Manny, art director; Imogene + Willie, designers; Megan Prange, owner of Megan Prange Pattern and Apparel Production; and Casey Freeman and Savannah McNeill, designers and bloggers at “Hey Wanderer.”

In addition, the MTSU Textiles, Merchandising and Design program is this year’s exclusive education sponsor of Nashville Fashion Week.

“It fits directly into the mission of recruiting students, student success while on campus and placing students with jobs because it helps us make industry connections,” Cottle said.

Two MTSU alumnae will be at their alma mater April 10 and 11 to recruit from the program and attend the runway show.

Lisa Struble, vice president of technical design, and Amy Cornwell, technical designer for UnderArmour, also will help the MTSU program create a professional advisory board.

Except for the runway show, all Middle Tennessee Fashion Show events are free. For more information, contact Cottle at 615-494-8752 or rick.cottle@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)

Liz McLean, an apparel design major from Glendale, CA, sews a garment in preparation for the 2015 Textiles, Merchandising and Design Runway Show April 11 at MTSU. (Photos by MTSU News and Media Relations)

Early versions of some “Cosmic Couture” designs are on display in a window on the second floor of MTSU’s Learning Resources Center.