O'More Fashion Show Returns with Bold Collections, Deep Community Roots

Eight senior collections and an adaptive design partnership take the stage at Belmont's annual event

Belmont's O'More College of Architecture & Design brought its annual fashion show back to the Curb Event Center April 24, drawing industry professionals, families and fashion enthusiasts for an evening that underscored what the program does best: design with purpose. 

Now in its 26th year, the show has become one of Nashville's most anticipated student showcases — and this year's installment made clear that O'More's vision extends well beyond the runway. 

Empathetic Design: The Move Inclusive Partnership 

At the heart of this year's show was O'More's partnership with Move Inclusive Dance, a Franklin-based nonprofit offering dance classes for individuals with disabilities. Junior fashion students spent the semester designing custom recital costumes for Move Inclusive dancers — an experience that Andie Day, assistant professor of fashion, describes as central to the program's mission. 

"Design is supposed to serve our customers and our clients first, not ourselves," Day said. "When students look through the eyes of somebody whose needs aren't necessarily designed for, they're learning an empathetic side of design that they can apply for the rest of their careers." 

The partnership grew out of a broader curricular commitment to knitwear and adaptive design. Because active organizations like Move Inclusive require garments with stretch and freedom of movement, the project simultaneously serves community needs and fills a critical gap in students' technical education. 

"It equally serves our learning outcomes as it serves their physical needs," Day said. 

Students visited Move Inclusive's studio three times throughout the semester — first to observe choreography and take measurements, then to fit initial mockups and finally to deliver finished costumes in time for the fall recital. The dancers' specific needs shaped every step of the process, requiring students to move fluidly between hands-on observation and direct conversation depending on each dancer's needs. 

“One of the biggest lessons for our students is learning not to assume what someone needs, but to listen and design with them, not for them,” Day said. 

Several Move Inclusive dancers joined their designers on the runway, drawing some of the evening's most enthusiastic applause. 

The partnership reflects a long-standing commitment within O’More’s fashion program to empathetic, human-centered design. Previous collaborations with organizations like GiGi’s Playhouse and Saddle Up! have challenged students to design not just for aesthetics, but for real people with real needs. What’s evolved is the scale of that commitment. Day and co-instructor Shannon North are now developing a dedicated integrated studio course to expand the program’s adaptive design research, with plans to collaborate again with Saddle Up! next spring to develop sizing systems and activewear for equestrian athletes with disabilities. 

Senior Collections 

While partnerships like Move Inclusive center design in real-world impact, the runway also spotlighted the personal vision of O’More’s emerging designers. Eight graduating seniors each presented a capstone collection built entirely from their own creative vision. Inspired by everything from medieval literature to circus theatrics, the collections reflected the range and rigor of a program that pushes its designers to think conceptually before they ever touch a sewing machine. 

This year's seniors leaned theatrical — drawing on art history, personal narrative, music and the American frontier to produce work that was as intellectually driven as it was visually striking. 

Junior Prompt: American Heritage Through Fiber 

While seniors presented fully developed collections, juniors approached design through a structured prompt designed to build their conceptual thinking. Tasked with exploring American identity through natural fibers — cotton, wool, flax and hemp — students were asked to reckon with materials that have shaped the country's economy, culture and history. 

The resulting mini-collections ranged widely in interpretation, with designers drawing on influences from Jackie Kennedy to Native American traditions, each finding their own entry point into the complexity of American heritage. 

The Full Picture 

The runway looks and community partnerships are only part of the story. Behind every logistical and creative layer of the production — from the run of show and stage design to social media strategy and the opening hype video — are O'More's fashion business students. This year's show was coordinated by Star Grieve, who also led the Fashion Event Management course, with oversight from Stephanie Reese, chair of fashion and assistant professor. 

For Reese, the show's real power lies in what it produces beyond the night itself. 

“This show reflects the full scope of what our students do,” she said. “From producing and marketing a live event to designing collections that respond to real people and real needs. It’s shows students how to pair creativity with purpose, and prepares them to lead across every part of the fashion industry.” 

That combination — technical rigor, empathetic design and real-world production experience — is exactly what O'More's fashion program is built on. Twenty-six years in, the show remains its clearest proof of concept.