The University might be celebrating its 143rd Commencement this year, but fashion designer Leslie Lambeth had to go a lot further back than that to get ideas for new Commencement gowns in honor of the University’s Sesquicentennial.
How far back? Try the Middle Ages.
“When I was first asked to take on this project, I looked into the heritage of commencement gowns,” said Lambeth, a 1978 fashion design alumna of the School of Fine Arts. “I wanted the new design to look less like a choir robe and more like a commencement gown.
“I researched the history of the baccalaureate robe and found that it has evolved from the cleric robes in the Middle Ages. The clerics were the scholars during those times.”
In her research, she noticed a striking similarity between the architecture of the Middle Ages and that on the Hilltop Campus.
That discovery sent her on her way to designing a gown similar to the ones from that period.
“I thought it would be nice to have something to strongly reflect that sense of similarities in the architecture,” Lambeth said.
She also researched graduation attire at other universities.
“I found that there were no real standouts in terms of unique design, but usually school colors were incorporated in the gowns,” she said. “Washington University’s special shade of green was selected as the primary gown color to immediately set it apart.”
In the past, the gowns were plain black. The green gowns were worn at Commencement last year by Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, grand marshal Edward N. Wilson and Board of Trustees members participating in Commencement.
This year, everyone will be wearing the new gowns, which have black velvet trim and the University shield on both shoulders.
“I designed an inset at the top of each sleeve as a unique detail that would make this gown truly different from those at other schools,” Lambeth said. “This placement allows the shield to be easily seen from many angles and does not interfere with the medals also worn by scholars during academic ceremonies.”
For graduate students and faculty, black velvet tams replace the traditional mortarboard.
Lambeth’s early fashion design experience was in junior and missy sportswear design. More recently, she has designed specialty apparel for the 2002 Olympic Games, Universal Studios in Florida, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld and the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando, Fla.
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