In March, Australian Aboriginal culture will take center stage during a Charlottesville runway show featuring textiles made by indigenous artists and displayed in couture clothing designed by University of Virginia students.

The project, called “Culture Couture,” began when Lauren Maupin, education and program coordinator at UVA’s Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, attended a fashion show at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair during a 2014 summer fellowship in Australia.

“The garments and textiles were stunning,” Maupin said.

Kluge-Ruhe purchased several textiles and Maupin, eager to involve students, launched a January 2015 design contest with Marcy Linton, an associate professor of costume technology in UVA’s Department of Drama. Maupin and Linton selected promising sketches and, last fall, Linton led a class of seven students in bringing those sketches to life.

Along with student designers, the project includes 40 students helping with marketing, music, modeling and other tasks.  

“Since there is no formal fashion program at UVA, this project reached students interested in fashion and gave them another way to learn about it,” Maupin said. “Now they can see their work come to fruition on the runway.”

UVA Today joined class sessions to document the students’ progress ahead of the March 19 runway show, to be held at the Jefferson Theater.

Alongside student garments, it will feature clothing and jewelry created by indigenous designers. Guests can enjoy food catered by C&O Restaurant, shop for accessories and attend an after party. Tickets are available through the UVA Box Office, and are redeemable with Arts Dollars.

All photos by Dan Addison, University Communications, unless otherwise noted.