Homegrown talent

On Saturday, Feb. 2, Suede, a fashion designer and graduate of Kent State University, unveiled his new line of fabrics and patterns at his alma mater.

Suede, who competed on Season 5 of Project Runway and Season 2 of Project Runway All Stars, has partnered with Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores to produce SUEDEsays fabrics and patterns.

Two presentations were scheduled for the day, but two more had to be added in order to accommodate the large crowd that came to see Suede's creations.

During each presentation, Kent State students modeled Suede's collection on the runway. The fashion shows were introduced by J.R. Campbell, director of The Fashion School at Kent State, and Dan Cox, buyer for Jo-Ann.

Cox told the audience about how Suede had recorded a video of himself encouraging Cox to sell his collection at Jo-Ann. Cox said he was impressed by Suede and by "how well he knows his target customer."

The event was sponsored by Jo-Ann, Simplicity, Kent State and Springs Creative.

All of the fabrics and patterns in the SUEDEsays collection are available online at www.joann.com and in Jo-Ann stores.

Sunday, February 3, 2013