Fair fashion: contestants show off their catwalk creations
Kent Luetzen
The only male contestant in the Lake County Fair sewing competition shows off his football pants.
Kent Luetzen
Alyssa Liddle was selected as the Senior Fashion Review Champion and Brooklyn Kenelty was picked as the Junior Fashion Review Champion at the Lake County Fair.
Kent Luetzen
Kent Luetzen
Kent Luetzen
Kent Luetzen
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
RONAN — Fashion hit the stage at the Lake County Fair with eight contestants showing off their unique style in front of family and friends on Thursday, July 28. While the designers strutted their stuff down the catwalk, judges made final notes about each outfit and eventually picked their top winners: Alyssa Liddle, Senior Fashion Review Champion, and Brooklyn Kenelty, Junior Fashion Review Champion.
“It is fun to see the idea of an outfit come to life,” Liddle said. “I created the jacket out of wool and searched through pattern books to find this pink dress I made.”
Liddle said fashion contests can be stressful, especially if a designer is cramming to finish his or her outfit.
“We try to get the sewing done well in advance, but sometimes you see something little and want to quickly fix it,” Liddle said.
Liddle recently earned runner-up at 4-H State Conference for her fashion.
Junior winner Kenelty found her inspiration by watching role models in the past.
“When I was really young and starting to sew, I saw the older girls made coats, and I wanted to make a coat now that I am older,” Kenelty said. She attends the Ronan Middle School and has been sewing for four years. “I made a blue coat and grey pants … it is an outfit that is really me.”
Kenelty has future plans in the fashion industry and the Lake County Fair is just the beginning.
“I want to create outfits for people and make them how they want them to look,” Kenelty said. “It would be fun to do that for celebrities.”
Liddle and Kenelty, along with other contestants, spend five to six months working on their design prior to competition, according to Sewing Leader Michal Ann Stedje.
“I help them construct the clothes, like picking out patterns that would suit them, fabrics that they are comfortable working with, and creating an outfit they would actually wear when they are done,” Stedje said. “I just teach them the basic sewing skills.”
Before showing off their creations, the contestants sew a sample piece to get the fit just right, according to Stedje.
“My favorite part about helping the kids is when I see them wearing their outfit in public,” Stedje said. “I know that they worked hard on their projects and watching them smile in their clothes is priceless.”
