by Chloe Karaskiewicz
In Varsity Hall of Union South, a U-shaped runway transformed the room Friday night. The site of the 2012 ESCAPE Fashion Show, the hall hummed with conversation as camera flashes went off intermittently from the red carpeted entrance. Sponsored by Kohl’s—a partner of the Design Studies Department—the show was organized and presented by the School of Human Ecology and the Textile and Apparel Student Association.
The show itself, a showcase for the Fashion Show Production class in the Textile and Apparel Design program, was broken down into four major capitals of the fashion world: Tokyo, London, New York, and Paris. Each section of the show had distinctive characteristics, the most noticeable of which was a neutral color palette with prevalent blushes, greys, tans and black and whites in the London segment.
Though the ready-to-wear selections were creatively designed and beautiful in their execution, it is always the avant-garde that are the most memorable. Caroline Wilson’s “Limelight,” was a simple white dress, except for the LED pipe lights that blinked around the bodice. Willie Sinclair III’s marvelous “Cotton Petal” creation was a voluminous maxi skirt fashioned from intricately twisted material—not unlike the three dimensional snowflakes made in the winter. Kaley Sundby’s “Sweet Reams” was a gown reminiscent of flowers but edgier than you average garden. Dark beige floral shapes were applied over a black netting-like skirt: an aspect that made the piece a new and modern take on the classic.
Congratulations to all the designers and award winners of the night including Megan Herman, winner of the first Tessia Brown Showstopper award, and Jordan Bautista, whose garment Transformation won Best-in-Show.
