Costume design students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln got nose-to-nose with some silky inspiration on Nov. 15.
To help further a class project on designing an animal-inspired costume, Mahogany the alpaca hung out with the students on the green space south of the Temple Building.
Students in the class, which is led by Jamie Bullins, assistant professor of theater and film, were allowed to observe, touch and interact with Mahogany. The alpaca was a natural, even taking time to pose for selfies with a few of the excited students.
The alpaca, which is a smaller cousin to the llama, was one of the choices Bullins offered in the costume assignment. Other creatures included hippos, penguins and kiwis.
Alison Finn, a secondary English education major from Norfolk, chose the alpaca as her inspiration. Her design concept to transform a person into an alpaca included skinny khaki pants to emulate the animal’s long legs, a chunky sweater to suggest a fluffy coat, and a messy bun to mimic the animal’s topknot.
“This is the first time I’ve had an animal come to class,” Bullins said, as his students fussed over the animal in the green space near the “Torn Notebook” sculpture. “But an alpaca was the only option. We couldn’t bring in a hippopotamus.”
