The Ruffle Inspires Fashion at DIA

The Ruffle Inspires Fashion at DIA
Leeanna Laliberte ties a neckpiece on her model and inspects her evening gown made from hundreds of white and gold cupcake liners.

"I really wanted to make a piece of art," says Laliberte, a Wayne State University fashion design student, who spent her spring break figuring out how to sew liners so they wouldn't tear.

This was quite time consuming," she says. "On one sleeve alone, there are more than 88 cupcake liners."

Her creation is part of a free runway fashion show, called "Ruff and Ready to Wear," that will be held at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Friday night.

The show challenged local designers to draw inspiration from the museum's installation of works by the 17th-century Dutch portrait artist Gerard ter Borch and to reinterpret the ruff, or ruffle.

The 6:30 p.m. show in the museum's Diego Rivera Court will feature DJ Slopoke spinning classical music with modern beats and is free with museum admission (a donation of $4 for adults and $1 for children is recommended).

Other designs will include a black satin dress with a modern bronze taffeta neck ruff by Anastasia Chatzka of Chesterfield Township, and a raw linen dress featuring a gauze-draped neck ruff by Detroiter Samantha Bullock.

"I thought it was a very creative idea for a special event," Bullock says.