ZONTA FASHION SHOW FEATURES GUEST DESIGNER

Mad about plaid? How about fashions with an equestrian flair or tailored suits in crepe?

Fall fashions will be modeled at the 16th annual fashion show, which will be held Sept. 19 at the Show Me Center. The event features local models wearing fashions from Hecht's, Hartford's, The Body Shoppe, Sandy's, Warehouse of Leather, Children's Bazaar and Ali Miles.

For the first time, the show features a guest designer, Wylly Butler of Dallas. Butler is designer and merchandiser for Ali Miles sportswear division of Jerell Inc. in Dallas.

The show also features a first for the Show Me Center, simultaneous overhead projection of the event. As the models walk down the runway, a projectionist will be videotaping and projecting it onto an overhead video screen.

Butler said in a telephone interview she was flattered to be asked to work with the fashion show. Butler was named the 1992 Designer of the Year by the Dallas Fashion and Textile Club. She designs five collections consisting of more than 120 pieces each. She also selects all fabrics and often custom designs prints for her sportswear line.

Butler will be showing different segments of her fall collection, from career to dressy. The collections are geared for working women, ages 25 and over.

"Our speciality is doing clothes for real people," Butler said. "We realize a lot of these women are moms so we are really conscience of fact that clothing needs to be fashionable but functional as well."

The designs are inspired by high fashion, she said, but in a way that is practical.

Plaid was one of the biggest statements to come from high fashion designers. "We have plaid in our line in a way people would feel comfortable wearing."

Butler said color has returned to the fall collection, especially red. Burgundy, forest green and steel blue are also found.

"We call it traditional with a twist," Butler said.

Models for the show are members of the Zonta club, which is something different for Butler. "When you are working with professional models, they will put on anything you tell them to," she said.

The local models are particularly conscious of how they look.

"There has been a little outfit switching going on, and I don't blame them," Butler said. "The people in the audience know them and they want to look their very best."

That personal touch makes the fashion show a success, Butler said.

Prior to joining Jerell Inc., Butler served as a designer for the Dallas-based Prophecy Corporation. She was a New York Tommy Award nominee for design in print in 1993, is a member of the Fashion Group, and serves on the Art Institute curriculum board to critique the work of fashion design students in the North Texas area.

Butler received a bachelor of fine arts degree in fashion design from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., and studied at the London College of Fashion in London, England.

The fashion show has a Mardi Gras theme, and will include New Orleans blues and zydeco music, Cajun food and decorations.

In addition to the fashions, an annual raffle will give away more than 45 prizes, including a $1,000 original design from C.P. McGinty Jewelers and a $300 gift certificate from The Body Shoppe.

A highlight of the raffle will be the give-away of one of Butler's original designs. The winner of this raffle item must be present to win and will be asked to go on stage to personally select the fashion design.

Money raised at the fashion show is given to organizations including American Red Cross, Community Counseling and Cottonwood Treatment Centers, Cape Girardeau fire and police departments, Easter Seal Society, Girardot Center for Youth and Families, Habitat for Humanity, the Literacy Committee, Missouri Veteran's Home, Girl Scouts, Safe House, Salvation Army, St. Francis Life Line and Womancare Conference. The money also goes toward several scholarships.