Aspiring designer Krista Druen showed off her menswear fashion designs at her first-ever fashion show at Fusion Gallery in Lexington. Models strutted down the catwalk as they debuted her classy range of shirts and bowties.

Druen, senior apparel design and merchandising student at EKU, began working on her designs about a month and a half ago after getting a push from her mentor,Lexington-based designer Soreyda Begley.

“She’s really opened up a lot of doors for me in terms of getting to know different people in the art community,” Druen said. “She suggested I have a show here and obviously I was all for it. I made the date a couple months ago and got to it.”

Her menswear line consisted of printed button-ups and a collection of unique wooden bowties. The bowties were made with the help of Druen’s father, who began assisting her in bringing her designs to life about six months before the event.

Druen also spoke about her hopes for the future of her design career.

“I want to try plus size clothing. As a plus sized person it’s really hard to find clothes in stores. You have to do it online and it doesn’t really go well,” Druen said.

As a budding fashion designer, Druen’s first show was a big moment in her career.

“It’s been really exciting to see Krista’s progress from when she started interning with me,” Begley said. “I’ve seen a lot of progress in her and she is gaining confidence, and being able to pull off something like this is a big thing. It’s very exciting to see somebody doing work with men because there are not so many designers around here who do menswear.”

Begley praised Druen’s accomplishments and spoke about the bright future ahead of her.

“This is a good way for her to gain exposure and start getting some recognition and to pick up some clients,” Begley said. “She did it and I’m extremely proud for her. She’s really talented and very dedicated and wants to do this. So I’m sure she’s going to achieve a lot of things and this is just the beginning for her. I’m very happy to be a part of it.”

The clothing from Druen’s show will be available for purchase on etsy.com under Krista Elvena Designs.