The Good Guise

Holy flying scissors, Batman! Was that Catwoman I just saw caterwauling, or was it . . . Catman?

No Paris catwalk this! Just a small modeling platform in the senior cutting room of Otis College of Art and Design, but an appreciative audience of seniors wildly cheered and catcalled for their junior classmates as they modeled their own inventive Halloween creations.

Xay Vongphackanh was clearly “Queen of the Jungle,” in his purrfectly feline lioness costume. “My costume was inspired by the designs of Alexander McQueen and Thierry Mugler,” explained Vongphackanh as he tugged on his tail and adjusted his stunning ruff. Meow!

Vongphackanh and fellow flirtatious felines Quincy Russell and Cynthia Johnson, dressed in skintight shiny black vinyl, stole the show with their catty behavior.

The Otis students were instructed to be as imaginative as possible with $50 or less, but the assignment also had an academic bent. Students will be graded on costume construction and fit.

The Village People’s “YMCA” provided an upbeat soundtrack as the students modeled their costumes. Some young designers were clearly uncomfortable in the spotlight while others, such as Vongphackanh, Andrew Park as Edward Scissorhands, Heather Harris as Xena the Warrior Princess, Carrie Howe as a colorful mambo queen, and Andrae Gonzalo and Phuong Nguyen as Andy Warhol and Twiggy, took the opportunity to sell their personas with some potent posturing.

Many of the students’ designs represented familiar fictional characters--Aladdin, Jasmine, Cruella DeVil, Glinda the Good Witch, Princess Leia, Poison Ivy, Little Red Riding Hood, Winnie the Pooh, and Oscar the Grouch complete with garbage can. There were also such traditional Halloween looks as the angel, the flapper, a French maid, a bride, a princess or two, and Cleopatra.

But it was Po Lu’s elegant and unusual costume that drew the most ooohs and ahhhhs. Lu turned herself into a life-size flower. Dressed head to toe in hand-dyed green muslin, she took the stage and unzipped the front and back of her exotic headdress to reveal a perfectly crafted orange rosebud blooming on top of her head.

“Po spent less than $10 on her costume, and she worked like crazy on it. The final result is so novel and beautiful, she will certainly receive a good grade,” said Otis instructor Frances Harder.

But don’t try this at home. Not only are these handmade costumes crafted by near-professional tailors, they also are made with fabrics few amateur costume-makers have access to--most of them donated by big fashion houses for students’ use.

“The students here are very focused and their work is intense and exhausting,” said Rosemary Brantley, founding chair of the Otis School of Fashion Design. “The Halloween costume project gives them a fun break, but [then] they go to work on their critics’ problems.”

Otis is famous for connecting students with big designers who assign them fashion “problems” and critique their solutions. Critics for this year include top designers from Oscar de la Renta, Anne Cole Collection, Pleasure Swell, XOXO, St. Vincent, DKNY, SHE, Anne Klein, New Republic, St. John and Carmen Marc Valvo.

Other than Otis staff, the only critics expected to weigh in on the students’ Halloween fashions are the folks handing out candy in their neighborhoods tomorrow night.