School is Out
California’s eclectic design community is seldom more visible than when seen in the year-end student shows at Los Angeles area fashion design schools. This graduation season many students followed current fashion trends established by world-class designers, but there were just as many who drew inspiration from the rich cultural fabric of their own diverse ethnic backgrounds.
At Brooks College, each of the 45 graduating students showed a mini-collection of three related garments, as a test run for the five-times-per-year collections they will be required to produce as professional designers working in the garment industry.
Denise Belyea captured two awards, including best of show, for her gray tailored suits lined in warm orange. She hand-dyed bright silk scarfs and gloves to match, for a look Karl Lagerfeld of Paris often shows.
Dawn Jones was singled out for her colorful quilted, tasseled jackets worn with bicycle pants; Sooyun Yi for her apple green and white sportswear separates with floral chiffon blouses; Miriam Campoy for her ruffled taffeta gowns recalling Carmen Miranda, and Cherie Pagadora Orozco for her clean-lined swimsuits in unusual colors.
At the Woodbury University show, students displayed theatrical aspirations with original costume designs, as part of the school’s slick production.
This year, students competed for cash prizes, with the winning entry in each of nine categories receiving $100. Carmen Hines and Daniela Saxa-Kaneko walked away with the most awards, tying with each other in the evening-wear and best-of-show categories. Hines’ “wearable garbage” bridal gown, with tissue paper skirt, molded plastic bodice and hand-beaded wig, won for the best of the fantasy creations in the bridal segment. Austrian-born Saxa-Kaneko showed a memorable burlap kimono decorated with natural fibers and seeds.
The school, under the direction of Rosalie Utterbach, encourages exploration of fashion from a global perspective. “The students research a country or a culture or a material,” she said. “I feel they appreciate contemporary design in a different way, after they’ve had a chance to research something and see how it communicates.”
For students in the American College for the Applied Arts’ seventh annual design show, held in May, the 1960s--the Age of Aquarius--served as the main source of inspiration. The students took part in the show’s production and modeling under the direction of independent fashion show producer Yvette Crosby.
Despite heroic efforts by Crosby, the show struggled to measure up to quality level of the other area design schools. In their quest for fashion sizzle, many students overlooked critical steps of fabric selection, fit and workmanship. A 1960s accessory theme, with oversized sunglasses, teased wigs and jewelry by the pound, distracted rather than enhanced the student efforts.
All of the schools called upon successful Los Angeles designers to serve as judges. And the judging panel for the American College of Applied Arts included some of California’s most innovative designers--Brenda Welch, Tina Hagen, Maggie Barry and Stephen Walker for Van Buren, Katayone Adeli for Laundry and Rickie, Melinda Besnoin for Melivier and Kiki Garwood, costumer for television’s “The Wonder Years.”
They singled out Anna Philip for her two-tone green swing jacket, tunic and skirt; Garnidawati Rahardja for her tailored, carmel-colored suit with bronze cord closure; Lisa Norden, awarded in both the evening wear and senior projects categories for her champagne satin halter jumpsuit with black panne velvet cape, and Joana Mirena Rada, who took top honors for her Renaissance-inspired velvet and tapestry costume dress with silver piping.
At the Pasadena City College annual design show, students added another notch to the belt of a school that over the last eight years has developed a strong track record in the category of wearable art. Extravagant hand work, authentic cultural references and exotic, imported fabrics made many designs seem more appropriate for a costume exhibition than a clothing store.
“I don’t recall seeing many shows that use such a variety of inspirations,” said Edward Maeder, curator of costumes and textiles for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and a judge for the show. “I saw great materials and garments that were beautifully put together.” Best-of-show honors went to Nhon Phan for his black and white, yin-yang jacket and wide-legged pants. Janel Thurber’s tight, black cocktail dress, with each side of the gold-stitched bra sporting numbers and the hands of a clock indicating L.A. and Paris time, earned her the school’s wearable art award. Thurber stretched the limits of fashion as art with a prolific 14 designs, including stained glass and cardboard bustiers inspired by Thierry Mugler’s recent runway shockers--bustiers modeled after automobile grills.
“I want to be successful but I don’t want to end up doing California ready-to-wear,” vowed Thurber. “I’ll design a whole line in cardboard before I’ll design the same T-shirt over and over again.”
