Students throw a re-fashion show with recycled fabric

By Matthew Cardoza

Special to The Guardsman

 

Students from Fashion 47 put on a fashion show called “Back to the Future: Reconstructed” in the Educated Palate Restaurant at the City College Downtown Campus on Tuesday, May 1.

15 reconstructed outfits in total were designed for the show, each with their own unique designs. The designers utilized luminescent add-ons, stitched together patterns, and other techniques to make their outfits pop.

Eight models adorned with blue eye makeup wore them in the restaurant, displaying the works for the public diners to view.

This event was the first fashion show put on at the Downtown Campus according to Fashion 47 professor Priscilla Fong.

Fong has worked in the Fashion department at City College for six years, originally working as a part-time manager at Forever 21 before deciding to come to City College.

Fong mentioned that in the past, the Fashion 47 class usually had the show at Ocean Campus, but since the classes were moved to the Downtown Campus this semester, it made sense to have it there.

Fong wanted her students to make the most out of creating and running the fashion show from scratch.

“I want the students to understand the process of producing an event like this from start to finish. It’s not just putting your name out there, it’s getting a lot of skills in the process like communication, planning, external vendors, et cetera,” Fong said.

Inna Nikolskaia is a first semester City College student majoring in fashion. She was previously pursuing a degree in cinema but decided to switch majors after she took a fashion class and really enjoyed it.

She wore two pieces for the show. One garment combined a floral corset with a poofy white skirt lined with luminescent wiring. The other outfit comprised of jeans and a denim reconstructed top.

Nikoskaia noted the amount of effort it took to get the show ready to run properly on May 1.

“This was my first fashion show and we were producing it from zero, so it was really useful to realize what was needed to put together the show. Every step counts because there were so many small things that influenced whether the show was great or was ruined,” Nikolskaia said.

Cameron Keeton is a first-year student at City College majoring in fashion and textiles. He was one of the designers for the show, creating some of the outfits the models wore.

He went for a more sustainable look to his designs, as he created five to six garments made with reconstructed, eco-friendly materials and recycled fabrics.

He took his inspiration from many eco-friendly clothing companies such as Patagonia. While it was his first time doing a show like this, in the end, the show worked well for him.

“The show went pretty smoothly for me. I had all the garments done originally before, so it was pretty much just hands off letting them design the show, giving them the garments to style, so it was pretty hands-off at that point,” Keeton said.