The UC Davis Fashion and Design Society (FADS) will present “Laced in Reverie,” the 2026 Picnic Day Fashion Show, on April 18. The event will spotlight fashion created and executed by the Department of Design undergraduate students in the “Signature Collection” course.

Adele Zhang, Senior Continuing Lecturer in Design and instructor of the “Signature Collections,” has announced that the Department of Design will again host the show at its Makerspace Courtyard in Cruess Hall. The event will be presented live and outdoors at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The theme we have decided on will take inspiration from the 1986 movie, Labyrinth, as we wanted to capture the Picnic Day theme of “Journey Home” and encapsulate the signature designers’ overall concept of self discovery.

“To accompany this theme, we have chosen the title, “Laced in Reverie,” said Amy Lee, FADS co-president. “Reverie meaning “a state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts or daydreams.” We wanted to capture the elegance of the fashion show’s theme as well as the dreamlike nature of nostalgia and self-discovery in our designer’s collections to show how things are delicately laced together like clothing.”

There will be eight signature collection designers in total this year. The show will also include single and cohort garments along with new additions to the university’s acclaimed Red Dress Collection which uses fashion to bring awareness women’s heart health issues.   

Ticketed seating will go on sale at the end of March. Standing room is free. 

In conjunction with “Laced in Reverie,” there will be a one-day outdoor installation that showcases each designer’s process along with their other works, including textiles, wearable technology and more.

In addition, the UC Davis Design Museum in Cruess Hall will be open noon-4 p.m. for patrons to attend “Village Homes: A Radical Plan,” which showcases the vision, concepts, and development behind a sustainable community here in Davis.

The Department of Design is housed in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis and is the only comprehensive design program within the University of California system.