EAST LANSING, MI.- Today, Wednesday, May 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the public is invited to Kresge Art Museum to attend the opening reception for Cat Chow: Second Skin, which will include a fashion show featuring innovative wearable creations designed by students and fashioned out of recyclable or everyday materials, inspired by Cat Chow’s artistic garments. The fashion show will begin at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students; $10 for museum members; $15 for the general public. Advance reservations are recommended. Complimentary beverages and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Project Runway meets Cat Chow in a runway extravaganza to celebrate the opening of Kresge Art Museum’s next exhibition, Cat Chow: Second Skin—Ingenuity Transforms Fashion into Art. Student artists and designers were challenged with a short time frame and a minimal budget of $20 to create a garment fashioned out of recyclable or everyday materials. The results will be unveiled on Wednesday, May 10, on the Kresge Cat Walk.

It was just about a month ago that Heather Winfield, Kresge Art Museum’s events and communications coordinator, attended a meeting of the MSU Student Apparel and Design Association to announce the idea and seek participants to work singly or in teams. She also posted flyers around campus, solicited the help of costume design faculty to help spread the word, and spoke about the project on-air on WLNZ, the Lansing Community College student-operated radio station. The result was a participant list of eight MSU and LCC students who were eager to meet the challenge. “Even with pending exams and the burdens of hectic end-of-year schedules, the eight designers involved are so excited to have the opportunity to be creative and add this design experience to their portfolio,” says Winfield.

Seven designs by eight student designers will be featured on Wednesday night. The participating designers are Alicia Bowerman, Christine Force and Hanna Christiansen, Evelyn Gilbert, Berry Noxon, Lauren Olson, Michelle Ariel Sanders, and Lizzie Shirer. Their materials include twine, magazines, plastic bags, Styrofoam peanuts, paper bags, grapefruit bags, emerald ash borer infested wood, and Halloween masks. The designers are responsible for obtaining the materials themselves but will be reimbursed for up to $10, out of their total $20 budget, for their expenses.

Cash prizes provided by an anonymous museum donor and free tuition to a workshop led by artist Cat Chow will be given for the best fashions. The designs will be juried by Dr. Sally Helveston Gray, MSU Professor of Apparel Textile and Design, Nancy McCray, owner of Woven Art Gallery, and Gretel Geist, MSU Theater Department Professor of Costume Design.