On Wednesday, March 16, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Jerry Silverman and Shannon Rodgers School of Fashion Design and Merchandising will play host to three designers who will critique 49 senior fashion design students' senior projects.

Fashion designer Dana Buchman (right) participated in
last year's critique.

The critiques will take place throughout the day in the Atrium of Rockwell Hall, located on the corner of Main and South Lincoln streets at 515 Hilltop Drive on the Kent Campus. Parking is free, and the event is free and open for observation from the second floor of the atrium. Reservations are not required.

This year's critics are: Jeff Bergus, who has designed for the likes of Geoffrey Beene, IZOD and JCPenney; Leanne Marshall, known by most as the 2008 "Project Runway" winner; and Jeff Mahshie, senior designer for Lord & Taylor.

Kent State's School of Fashion Design and Merchandising is one of only 13 member schools in the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Each of the students will get about 15 minutes of the designers' time. Each student will display four to five outfits sewn in muslin, a test fabric, on a combination of dress forms and models. The Fashion School was recently ranked third in the United States and 13th in the world by the highly regarded fashion website, fashionista.com.

"The time the students have with the critic lends a professional interaction that challenges the student to adapt and grow to an open-ended design process," says Noel Palomo-Lovinski, associate professor of fashion design. "Design is about creating pieces that work within the confines of a market and season and must fit the needs of a customer. This is often one of the most difficult lessons which a student must learn."

The final designs will be featured during Portfolio, the school's annual fashion show, slated for April 16 in Cartwright Hall. Tickets for the fashion show are $65, $45 or $30 and will go on sale March 20 at www.tix.com.

The Senior Design Critics Endowment was made possible by Mr. Ronald E. Teare of Cleveland. The program's purpose is to bring together senior students in the fashion design program with renowned professional designers.