Delano Lockhart thinks a lot about clothes, from their ability to make us feel confident to how they can bring people together. As president of Dare to Wear, the only fashion-related Registered Student Organization on campus, he invites Huskers from all majors, backgrounds and fashion senses to come together to think more about clothing.

“Even though we don’t always think about it, fashion impacts everyone,” Lockhart said. “Having all these people come together creates really interesting conversations — I feel like we can learn a lot from how we each think about fashion.”

Lockhart helped start Dare to Wear to raise awareness about the Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design program around campus and create opportunities for any student interested in fashion, regardless of their major, to learn more.

“We recently hosted an event where we learned eco-dyeing, which is a sustainable dyeing process,” Lockhart said. “A lot of people came together who didn’t really know each other before to try something new.”

He recently helped Dare to Wear bring in Lindsay Ducey, a program alumni who’s worked for Aeropostale, Gap and other brands, to talk about her experiences as an industry professional.

“It was really inspiring for students to see that people from Nebraska can get big jobs like that,” Lockhart said.

Another recent inspiration was participating in Project Funway, a runway show fundraiser that finds textiles students partnering with Fresh Start Home to support women experiencing homelessness. The event challenged Lockhart and other Husker designers to create something unique out of recycled denim for a runway show fundraiser for Fresh Start.

“It’s really important to me that my designs make the wearer feel really confident, and this was a fun challenge in that sense,” Lockhart said. “With anything I make, I want people to feel like their inner beauty is shining through.”

In thinking about the denim dress he created, he applied many of the same ideas that he holds when thinking about fashion more broadly.

“I always just say to wear what makes you feel confident,” he said. “It can be big and loud or very simple, and in either case, the confidence you have will elevate your look no matter what.”