Ohio Youth Ballet Will Wear Student-Created Kimono

Ohio Youth Ballet Will Wear Student-Created Kimono

More than 250 people attended the “Midori” Japanese-inspired fashion show on Saturday, February 21, at the Lions Lincoln Theatre—a collaborative project of the Massillon Museum, the Fashion Student Organization of Kent State University, and Arts in Stark.

Before the models and designers took the stage, guests viewed a display of kimono created by area students, which was displayed in the lobby, and voted for their favorites. The Fashion Student Organization designed the garments of plain fabric. Groups of students designed and decorated them to display in the community to promote the fashion show and to be judged by those who attended. They used paint, sequins, beads, stitching, applique, and other creative techniques to create an array of Japanese-inspired works of art.

High school students from Massillon Washington, Fairless, McKinley, Jackson, GlenOak, and Perry high schools as well as North Canton Public Library submitted their designs. Erin Sterling, Breann Sterling, and Allegra Gianfagna, high school students in Keri Burick’s North Canton Public Library Youth Manga Group, took first place in the high school category with their kimono design.

Younger students from Glenwood, Oakwood, Hartford, and Louisville middle schools; Sacred Heart of Mary School; Madge Youtz Elementary (with Stark Social Workers Network); and Massillon Public Library Junior Friends participated. Oakwood eighth graders Kayla Kayatin and Katie Scott, under the supervision of art teacher Susan Blurton, took the prize for the favorite kimono in the younger division.

The kimono will next appear on March 7 at Westfield Shopping Center, Belden Village, where they will be featured in a fashion show at 1:00 p.m. The Ohio Youth Ballet will wear them during their performances on March 27 and 28 at the Northeast Ohio Dance Fest; on April 13 at Kent State University Stark Campus at 5:00 p.m; and on April 26 at the closing ceremony for the “Kimono as Art” exhibition at Canton Country Day School, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

The “Midori” project was funded by Arts In Stark in conjunction with the “Kimono as Art” exhibit at the Canton Museum of Art; the Massillon Museum sponsored “Midori,” and the countywide display of original kimono; and the Fashion Student Organization created and coordinated the fashion show.

Media Contact:

Alexandra Nicholis, Massillon Museum Curator - anicholis@massillonmuseum.org or 330-833-4061

Photograph:

Back view of Oakwood Middle School's winning kimono

More images or higher resolution:

Mandy Pond, Massillon Museum Archivist - apond@massillonmuseum.org or 330-833-4061