DAAP Fashion Show 2024: Graduating with high energy and high style

This describes the reception that seniors in fashion design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) received at the culmination of the 71st DAAP Fashion Show on April 26 at MegaCorp Pavilion in Covington, Kentucky.

There, 28 fashion design students in DAAP’s Ullman School of Design displayed their collections to a sold-out crowd of over 800 attendees. 

“It was evident that our students were deeply connected to emotional, social issues, and had a profound interest in locality and the present,” through their designs, says show attendee Claudia Rebola, a DAAP professor of design and associate dean of research and graduate programs.

With music thumping in the background, professional models hit the runway to showcase the end of countless hours of creativity and construction.    

“Reaching the end of my time at DAAP can only be described as bittersweet. This program helped mold me, not only as a designer, but a person as well,” says senior Jasmine Gierman whose collection “Holding Space” paired the structure and thickness of fabrics like denim with the ethereal transparency of sheer lace.

DAAP fashion design graduates spend five years honing their craft for the final showing, but the class of 2024 was uniquely challenged by the brunt of remote learning during the pandemic. They spent their entire second year online, to include virtual co-op experiences— or lack thereof — that they would have otherwise had in person that year. 

“This class developed skills that no one could have planned for such as becoming self-starters, building determination and most of all, resilience,” says show director Laurie Wilson, associate director of student affairs and adjunct professor in the DAAP School of Design.

In addition to technical skills, they also developed a tight bond created in adversity that was enhanced by collective determination, says senior Jenson Johnson. Her collection “REBIRTH” featured materials sourced from secondhand shops, relatives, and people from her hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

“I have watched each one of my classmates develop their personal brands and identities over the years,” says Johnson, adding: “I can't think of a more supportive bunch than this group of designers…I am so proud of us."  

Featured photo at top from senior Olivia Triepke's collection: Father’s Mother/Mother’s Father. Photo/Andrew Highley/UC Marketing + Brand.