Celebrating in style: University of Alabama prepares fashion design building
The University of Alabama campus will soon have a new state-of-the-art fashion and design facility.
UA faculty, students and alumni gathered Friday on the lawn of Doster Hall to celebrate the development of Drummond Lyon Hall, which will house the College of Human Environmental Sciences’ fashion retailing and apparel design concentrations.
Drummond Lyon Hall is named after 1986 alumna Terri Drummond Lyon in recognition of her support for building, which will be built on Colonial Drive.
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Once construction is complete, the new fashion and design facility will house The Fashion Archive, which will be a collection of garment and textiles through history, along with a conservation laboratory, exhibition galleries, two cutting-edge studio classrooms, flex space for receptions or lectures and offices for fashion retailing and apparel design faculty.
"We're excited about the possibilities this cutting-edge addition to the UA campus will provide," said Stuart Usdan, dean of the College of Human Environmental Sciences.
"[Drummond Lyon Hall] will soon become a magnificent space where students can learn the art and business of apparel design and fashion retail and where visitors can do exhibitions of fashion from vintage to contemporary," Usdan said.
The 25,000-square-foot building will become part of a College of Human Environmental Sciences hub, which will include nearby Adams and Doster halls.
Usdan said Drummond Lyon Hall's design was intentionally chosen to resemble Doster Hall.
"We wanted to keep it similar to Doster Hall, which is the home base to our college. And eventually, once it's finished, if you look at this from Autherine Lucy Hall and you look down Colonial Drive, it will look like an extension of Doster and we're very excited about that," Usdan said.
UA President Stuart R. Bell said the University looks forward to welcoming students to the new fashion and design facility once the project is complete. Bell said construction of Drummond Lyon Hall is expected to be finished in July 2023.
"Drummond Lyon Hall affirms that this university will continue to be a national leader among universities in preparing students to be able to go out, yes, in the state of Alabama, but truly, all across this nation and to be leaders in that field," Bell said.
In a February news release, UA said that Drummond Lyon Hall will stand out when compared with apparel design and fashion merchandising programs offered at other Southeastern Conference schools. The facility will have dedicated spaces for apparel conservation and spaces for hands-on learning and hosting symposium-type events for the fashion and retail industries.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the college and our future generations of students. Drummond Lyon Hall will be space where learning thrives, where ideas come to life, where inspiration is found, and of all things where legends are made," said Jason Bell, a UA alumnus and Human Environmental Sciences leadership board chairman.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: University of Alabama celebrates Drummond Lyon Hall fashion facility
