NEW BEDFORD — Two years since consumers swapped their office wear for sweatpants and hoodies, students at UMass Dartmouth’s Star Store Campus are preparing to showcase their visions for the future of fashion.

Later this month, sophomores from the College of Visual and Performing Arts will present their custom clothing at an end-of-semester fashion show where models will strut the runway of the Dartmouth campus’ auditorium.

“The students have really made some beautiful things,” said Aleta Deyo, one of the CVPA’s fashion program instructors. 

Freshmen and other upperclassmen are also allowed to participate in the show.

The event, titled “LIGHT + FASHION,” will be surrounded by lighting vignettes created by students in the Interior Architecture and Design Program. There will also be a festival of lights following the event.

For this year’s fashion show, students worked throughout the semester to craft their take on the “athleisure” trend — which saw many professionals combine workout shorts with blazers as they conducted meetings from home. 

“What the kids are exploring is how to bring those people back into fashion by blending comfort with style,” Deyo said. 

The process begins with designs, sampling which materials would be best for those outfits, and then assembling a final product.

Outfits are then critiqued by faculty and professionals so students can make adjustments before the big show.

“Sometimes a concept or idea might not be executed perfectly,” Deyo said. “By bringing the idea forward, you can learn, which is what we’re all about.”

Along with a piece of athleisure, those participating in the show can have their models showcase a collection of four to six outfits ranging from grunge-style knitting to Met Gala-inspired dresses and avant-garde floral jackets.

Freshmen, meanwhile, are working on simple kimonos as they learn basic patterns and techniques.

“Here, the kids can experiment with a lot of different things or lean into whatever they want and be real imaginative with where they think fashion trends can go,” Deyo said. “There are places for everything.”

Sophomore Kaleb Reynolds said he’s using textured patterns to create an ensemble that would allow for more self-expression with designs inspired by the 2008 Studio Ghibli film “Ponyo.”

“Sometimes I feel like the clothes don’t express people as much as they should,” he said.

Meanwhile, junior Ashley Clark is working on a five-piece collection of business wear for women of color.

Her designs include use of bright colors she said would pair well with darker skin tones. 

“I just want to use colors that make [people of color] feel cool and confident,” she said.

Clark added that when the show occurs, her models will wear a natural hairstyle as a way to support the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act — which bans discrimination based on hair texture and hairstyles.

The bill was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last month and now awaits a vote in the Senate.

“It’s just hair,” Clark said. “Restricting it is not okay.”

Fifth-year student Emily Aaron is using her passion for costume design to create a set of clothing based on a play she made about flowers in a Victorian-era garden.

“The Victorians held such high meaning to flowers — they even had their own language,” Aaron said. “Conveying those meanings through gowns and through costumes will hopefully add a new layer and make people think differently about flowers.”

Along with crafting the outfits together on the second floor of the Star Store, Aaron said her home is filled with fabrics and dyes she made on her own stovetop.

“It takes over your whole life,” she said. “But when you love something, you don’t mind.”

The CVPA fashion show will be held April 22 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for the general public. 

Tickets can be purchased by cash at the door or online through the art school’s website.