Student Designs for a Power-Packed Audience
What started seven years ago as a table-top fashion show at the Hard Rock Cafe has evolved into a black-tie, standing-room-only, theatrical event of epic proportions.
The Seventh Annual Critics Awards Show for the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design was staged in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday night.
It was a zany and enlightening look at the future, as well as the past and present, of California fashion.
90-Minute Show
The students themselves represented the future. Twenty graduating seniors and 20 juniors showed their accomplishments in a 90-minute fashion show.
They didn’t come up with any startling new ideas. Rather, they seemed to be imitating their critics’ tastes and collections, possibly stifling their own, brave, new fashion inventions in the process.
Menswear designs, although classically inclined, showed the most imagination. Adult and child versions of boxy jackets worn with walking shorts were witty yet wearable. Some unexpected pattern mixes--checks, stripes and dots--looked new. Other notables were walking-short suits, vests in unusual shapes, and a pair of trousers cropped at mid-calf that made them look intentionally too short.
To a greater extent than ever, the school is a recruiting ground for new talent. And the audience reflected the trend. It was dotted with fashion retailers from both coasts, including Industry Committee chairman Robert Mettler, president and chief operating officer of Robinson’s. Karen Gould, whose husband, Michael, is president of Giorgio Beverly Hills, was the evening’s benefit chair.
From Bloomingdale’s in New York came vice president Barbara Kennedy, along with several store buyers.
After Saturday night’s show there was a silent auction at which many of the student designs were sold. Fred Hayman of the Rodeo Drive boutique that carries his name placed bids of $1,000 each on four evening outfits.
A year ago, Nordstrom was the first retail store to sponsor a student award at Otis Parsons and carry student designs in the store’s junior department.
The evening’s honored guest was Elois Jenssen, who designed all of the late Lucille Ball’s costumes for the “I Love Lucy” show.
After a fantasy skit that featured her work for Ball, she was presented the Design Achievement Award, which had been planned for a year. The comedian’s recent death made the remembrance particularly poignant.
The crowd hushed to pin-drop level when a recording of Lucy’s voice filled the room.
As for California present, that was represented by the designer-teachers who worked with this year’s students. Their names are among the best known in the Los Angeles contemporary fashion market. Leon Max, Karl Logan, Nancy Heller, Robin Piccone of Body Glove, George Machado for Zylos, Gary Nickerson for La Blanca swimwear and Tadashi and Eugene Rodriquez for Saturday’s among them. All served as “student guides” and critics this year.
The Big Winner
Despite the big business and Hollywood overtones of the evening, the awards themselves are still the main event for students and their guests. And this year’s big winner was Mitra Rajabi for the coveted Designer of the Year Award. In addition, 12 students received Golden Thimble Awards for excellence in specific fashion projects directed by a designer.
The Thimbles went to Rebecca Kaufman for her Nike shoe; Magali Juelle for her Stuart Weitzman evening slipper; Paula Corely for her Jocelyn Winship/Body Glove Menswear sleek cycling look; Nomi Saraj for her Body Glove Swimwear black neoprene bikini and skirt; Jaymie Harris for her La Blanca swimwear hooded maillot; Alice Bonner for her Saturday’s oversized varsity jacket look; Tracy Meagher for her Nordstrom young junior separates; Sally Yuk Wa Chan for her Zylos menswear shorts suit; Duncan McKenzie for his Karl Logan red pantsuit; Jon Murata for his Leon Max fit-and-flare chocolate-brown wrap coat; Sharon Chang for her Nancy Heller English-dandy looks; Sergio Kracer for his Tadashi/Bloomingdale’s black-lace cocktail dress.
Other Awards included the USA/USSR Design for Peace Team Award, given to Magali Juelle, Christopher Ma and Mitra Rajabi; the National Assn. of Menswear Buyer’s Award given to Alice Bonner; the Mens Apparel Guild in California Award given to Christopher Ma; and the Mizuno International Sportswear Design competition given to Mitra Rajabi.
The event raised $250,000 for the school.
