2024 Euphoria Fashion Show set for April 19

Friday, March 1, 2024

Media Contact: Christy Lang | Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-9740 | christy.lang@okstate.edu

Tickets are now available for Oklahoma State University's 2024 Euphoria Fashion Show. Presented by the Department of Design and Merchandising, the show will take place on Friday, April 19, at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center.

Now in its 13th year, Euphoria showcases the work of upperclassmen in fashion design and production as well as honors department alumni. 

Dr. Lynn Boorady, Department of Design and Merchandising head, said the event is the culmination of students’ learning at OSU.

“I love their creativity, their excitement and seeing how much they've accomplished,” Boorady said. “I meet someone as a freshman who isn't quite sure of what they're doing, and I watch them grow into these competent professionals that I am so proud to be sending out in the industry.”

Euphoria will offer general admission tickets for $25 and VIP tickets for $75. Both are available for purchase here. VIP ticket-holders will receive an invitation to a 6 p.m. reception to include a drink ticket, hors d’oeuvres and a Euphoria souvenir tote bag. 

The Euphoria Fashion Show will begin at 8 p.m. Beyond purchasing tickets, several sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are open to the public. Event organizers are also looking for volunteer ushers, hair and make-up artists, DJs and photographers. People may also apply to volunteer as models on the Euphoria website.

The high-energy show is entirely student-led: Juniors and seniors craft and curate each piece and are responsible for planning, marketing and executing the highly anticipated event, under the leadership of class instructor Diane Limbaugh. Boorady said the student involvement allows the show to be dynamic and exciting each year.

“They make sketches, throw sketches away and make new sketches to come up with their line,” Boorady said. “They have to go everywhere from making the pattern, fitting it to the person, finding the fabric and then stitching it up both physically and digitally.

“We don't just put on this one stagnant show every year. Everybody does it differently. Everybody puts their own stamp on it.”

Boorady said the students’ work allows them to build skills they will need when they enter the fashion industry. For students, it also provides an opportunity to show what they have learned to friends, family and the public. 

“It's sort of like a separate graduation ceremony just for our fashion students,” Boorady said. “It shows how much work they put into it, how much love they put into it, how much passion they have for what they're doing.”

Proceeds from the fashion show go toward scholarships and emergency funds for students in the Department of Design and Merchandising. Boorady said it is a way for students and community members to support future generations of students and designers while paying homage to a historic degree program at OSU.

“If you go back to the history of land-grant universities, home economics was one of the core programs that they started back in the late 1800s, and that's our history,” Boorady said “They were teaching women how to sew to keep their families clothed … and then that all started changing in the '70s. Now we are 100% industry: Our research is industry-focused; Everything we do is mass-production-focused.”

After five years at OSU, Boorady said she is still excited for the Euphoria fashion show, mainly because of how excited and proud students in the department are of it.

“I've had students whose parents are so far away that they have to make the choice between coming to the fashion show and graduation,” Boorady said. “And the students say, ‘No, come to my fashion show. I want you to see what I've done.’

“They really exemplify the best of what we do.”

Story By: Jessica Pearce | jessica.c.pearce@okstate.edu