Sunday, Dec 2, 2012
Garza County News

Photo by Jakelin Delgadillo

Post High School senior Shirley Araiza models the "green" dress that was designed and made by her older sister Darlene Araiza, a sophomore at TTU. The creation has advanced in a competition held by the ITAA (International Textile and Apparel Association).
(Click the above photo to see additional photos)

'Green' Dress Takes Araiza to Hawaii

Published May 5, 2012 @ midnight

A 2010 Post High School graduate has found fashion design creation success with a sewing machine and a few recycled materials.

Darlene Araiza is majoring in Apparel Design and Manufacturing, or ADM, at Texas Tech University.  In an interview, she told The Garza Post that in the classroom, "the instructor offers guidelines and encourages us to create from what inspires us and the student takes it from there."

For a recent project the student-designers were asked to create a garment using recycled materials during Green Week.  Darlene got busy and created a dress that won the approval of the Tech faculty which in turn encouraged her to enter a worldwide competition at the International Textile and Apparel Association's 2012 Annual Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Araiza said "I put it (the dress) together with used feed sacks, stuffing from a couch, and crushed egg shells." She plans on accompanying her 'green' dress to Oahu while enjoying warm sunny weather in early winter.

Darlene is the oldest of five children and accepts the responsibility of being a role model for her younger siblings.  Her parents are Maria and Felipe Araiza who helped spur her interest in the fashion design industry at a very young age.  "I asked for a sewing machine when I was 8 or 9 (years of age)...and they (her parents) trusted me with the machine."  Although the prodigy designer-seamstress has a more modern machine today, she still has her first machine at her parent’s house in Post. 

Darlene stays active outside the classroom serving as the Vice President of the Alpha Lambda Delta-Phi Eta Sigma honor societies on campus.

Darlene explained that her faith is responsible for her success in academics and now fashion design.  "I've always lived  by Matthew 6:33 'Seek God first, and the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness and all these things will be added on to thee’."

Her ultimate goal is to own her own clothing brand.  But, she would be happy to work designing for someone in the fashion industry and preferably in New York City where she spent the 2012 Spring break and will return to do her internship with Mara Hoffman who produces women's attire and operates out of New York, Los Angeles and Paris.

 
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