Source: Fox59
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – From sewing labs to NBA tunnels, an IU student is suiting up a Pacers star for the final regular season home game this Friday.
Sketching, pitching and stitching together a pre-game outfit for a well-known athlete – the task is a far cry from the final exams on other undergrads’ minds.
“They all said it’s about self-expression, which I agree with. What you wear says who you are,” said IU Bloomington senior Jenna Reed.
That’s why Jenna Reed, majoring in fashion design and advertising, asked herself a simple question – who is Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith?
“He’s from South Carolina. In South Carolina, his dad had purchased a property and on that property was a pond that had koi fish and his mom started selling the koi fish. From that story, koi fish kind-of stuck out with me,” Reed said.
Nesmith and his stylist, IU alum Dan Solomon, chose Reed’s design for Nesmith to wear as he walks into Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the last home game of the regular season. $200 from her own pocket and countless hours later, it was done: a hand-knitted sweater, cargo pants with pops of color, and a koi fish scarf to tie it all together.
“I could tell he recognized the koi fish, and then I started explaining the IndyStar article to him and I was like, ‘I hope that’s not a fake story.’ And he’s like, ‘no, that’s real.’ I was like, ‘okay, good. This is going good. I think I have a chance,” Reed said.
It’s a unique chance for NBA-level social media exposure, during a time experts say fashion is changing the game.
“It is a relatively new thing. Fashion in sports was not something we talked about five or six years ago,” said Jody Maurer, a merchandising lecturer at IU. “People are interested in what these athletes are talking about and what they like and it’s created a whole new business world out there.”
A world that’s ready for this next generation of creative Hoosiers to show off their skills.
“Seeing it on social media – I’m going to be geeking out and looking at the picture all day. I just know,” Reed said.
Reed says she’ll be at Friday’s game to document the moment she’s been waiting for – seeing Nesmith wear her creation in front of thousands of fans. She plans to post about the experience on her Instagram: @ByCreativeState.
