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K-State Today

July 29, 2015

Apparel and textiles junior wins three top honors for alpaca designs, essay

Submitted by Jane P. Marshall

Aaron Simon, junior in apparel and textiles, took top honors in three categories at the recent Alpaca Owners Association competition in Denver. He placed first in design competition, received the Judge's Choice award and was awarded Best Essay.

Virginia Davis, also an apparel and textiles junior in the apparel, textiles and interior design department in the College of Human Ecology, placed third out of 76 fashion entries in the design competition. 

Other students placing were Maggie Stuart, ninth; Schyler Slaven, 11th; Molly Fitzpatrick, 13th; Emily Sanders, 23rd; Brooke Wallace, 26th; and Doyun "Lydia" Lee, 33rd.

All are students in Sherry Haar's Fashion Illustration class and completed the entries as a class assignment.

Simon presented "Flightlines: Nebraska to New York."

"My designs featured very linear elements and were inspired by flight and the directional lines of airport tarmacs, but the essay really emphasized my growing up in Nebraska. Alpacas have the tendency to be seen as kind of rural and 'farm-y,' but the fibers are as versatile as sheep's wool and can be used for so many textiles, so I wanted to show that they can create something very fashion forward and edgy, which is where the New York part came into play," Simon said.

After graduation, he hopes to work in menswear product development. "My ultimate goal is to have my own men's activewear, swimwear and underwear brand," he said.

The student designer said he appreciates the camaraderie among his classmates. "There is no competition between one another because we are each other's biggest cheerleaders. That is such a rarity in universities, especially in creative fields," he said.