秋葵视频

As a child, Margaret Riggs鈥� first designs looked like the sketches of most kids: two-dimensional dresses with blocky sleeves, colored in crayon. A far cry from her latest masterpieces, which earned the graduating fashion merchandising student a nomination from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival this year.

Riggs was drawn to the fashion merchandising program at 秋葵视频 after running out of an audition for a high school play. Acting in 鈥淪hrek the Musical鈥� was not her cup of tea, she decided, but making and mending costumes for her classmates suited her hobby of sewing clothes. One show led to costuming most of the shows at her high school, including 鈥淏ring It On,鈥� for which Riggs received an honorable mention at the .

鈥淚 realized I could just keep doing this; I didn鈥檛 have to stop,鈥� she said, reflecting on her decision to continue the career she started in high school. 鈥淚 love designing, but I also love creating the costumes and going from designs to patterns, to sewing them together, to the finishing touches 鈥� I love the whole process.鈥�

Of all the programs in the state, the Georgia native picked program because it offered an emphasis in design and instruction on operating relevant software. With her education from Georgia Southern, Riggs has been able to master garment construction, patterns, drafting and more while being mentored by her professors and participating in more musical theater shows like 鈥�,鈥� which was nominated for an award at the regional Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

Challenging her typical 鈥渘eat and clean鈥� aesthetic, 鈥淧eter and the Starcatcher鈥� called for bold patterns to dress pirates, rough-and-tumble orphans, a colorful nanny and mermaids that looked as though they had been conjured from pieces of the ocean floor. Riggs wove wooden sea creatures into wigs, stretched netting over tails and used bright sequins and stripes to keep the motley crew looking appropriately chaotic.

鈥淕etting out of your comfort zone is where the most creativity is,鈥� she reflected. 鈥淭he show pushed me to think outside of the box and not do things based on my gut reaction, but on how everything incorporates together and what the designs communicate. Being uncomfortable made the designs unique and visually appealing.鈥�

With nothing but a tassel between her and graduation, she is looking forward to the next step in her career: a summer internship as a stitcher in the costume shop at the Tony-award winning Utah Shakespeare Festival. After her internship, she is considering continuing in theater or expanding her skills by exploring different branches of fashion, such as merchandising and film, and earning a master鈥檚 degree. Wherever Riggs鈥� artistic journey takes her, she鈥檚 eager to face the challenges ahead and continue to push herself.

鈥淐ollege has definitely been about learning to take risks and try new things,鈥� she said. 鈥淟ooking back today and seeing all the ways I鈥檝e changed gives me a lot of hope. I鈥檓 not the person I was when I started college, and that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�