More than 1,000 people crowded into Goldstein Auditorium Thursday afternoon to see a spectacle with more creativity than a 6-year-old in a sandbox, more patterns than a Jo-Ann Fabrics and enough colors to make a rainbow jealous. It was the first run of the fashion design department’s Fashion Show 2005, and it was amazing.

The show is a chance for students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ fashion design program to show off their creations, and features all-student models. There will be one more sold-out performance tonight at 7:30 p.m., also in Goldstein, which will be capped off by the senior design awards presentation.

Karen Bakke, chair of the fashion design department, opened the event by welcoming students visiting from several area high schools. She then kicked off the fashion displays with a quote from one of her favorite books, ‘Where the Wild Things Are:’ ‘Let the wild rumpus begin!’

The first half of the show was a series of collections selected for excellence by a jury. The first collection was a series worked on by several student designers, inspired by classic movies ranging from ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ to ‘Star Wars: the Phantom Menace’ to ‘The Sound of Music,’ though that outfit was probably too revealing for Julie Andrews

The show kicked into high gear as music started thumping and colored lights lit up the runway. Two collections by senior Elizabeth Lopez that had already appeared in New York City’s Fashion Week were paraded out, with some items for professional wear and other more simple combinations with basic blue jeans.

The first half of the show featured a broad array of styles, but the majority was skirts or dresses. Some were full length, some daringly short, and some were both – you just had to see them.

Many in the audience were impressed with the jury portion. ‘Some of it looks like stuff you’d really see on the runway,’ said Rena Menkis, a senior advertising design major.

‘This is fantastic, with the choreography and the students,’ said Jennifer Keleher, who came all the way from San Francisco to see her daughter Shannon model in the show. ‘It’s very well done.’

The second half of the production featured the senior collections. Each senior designer has spent the last year designing every aspect of their two-minute showcase, including making eight outfits, choosing music, lighting and models, choreographing the model walks and even choosing a personal logo.

There were 26 senior collections presented, and they showed how truly diverse the world of fashion can be. The designs took the form of beautiful elegance as in Jennifer Hill’s fashion gowns, bright and snarky designs for the Paris Hilton wannabe by Natalie Ackerman and true high fashion, created by Lindsay Hayden.

Teresa Santana of San Juan, Puerto Rico, came to see her daughter Teresa Casellas’ designs modeled. Santana thought Hill’s collection ‘was very glamorous, very classy.’

Many designs blended together, as themes such as neon and fluorescent colors, flappers and peacock feathers made repeated appearances in the senior collections.

‘Some were very original, others were redundant,’ said Alice Jong, junior fashion design major.

The standouts of the show were those that best displayed the designers’ creativity in ways the audience could appreciate. Danielle Ciampa’s use of sequined stars made for an intense but fun look, and Melody Davadick’s blending of punk attitude and haute couture made for a fantastic display. Davadick and fellow senior designer Katie Hagenbuch both expressed a great appreciation for Ciampa’s work. Neither deigned to pick a favorite collection, though.

‘Everyone talks about who’s going to get the best senior collection award,’ said Hagenbuch. ‘It’s hard to say who’s going to win hands-down.’

While every designer followed their own inspiration, there seemed to be a consensus that the infamous ‘fingertip rule’ was thrown out. Chloe Morgan, though, did the best job of lending taste and femininity to her sexy, short gowns. Nicole DeStefano showed some of her sleek and interesting twists on the ‘little black dress.’

One collection, that of Angelene Elliot, is simply indescribable. Its absolutely unique look left some viewers with strong opinions.

‘It was consistent, but the fabric combinations were horrible,’ said Jong. ‘It was the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.’

Kendra Brody, senior retail management major and one of the show’s coordinators, said things ran fairly smoothly, but that there were some issues trying to get models from the Schine Underground dressing rooms to the stage.

Davadick said stress also arose from designers sharing models, some of whom had to change outfits extremely quickly. ‘Since I don’t share a lot of my models, I’m not stressed out,’ she said. ‘We just hang around and eat cookies.’

Regardless of who takes home tonight’s awards or how well the show runs, ‘what’s important is (the designers) had their efforts in the collections,’ Santana said. ‘That’s what matters.’

PULL QUOTE:

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: 18th Annual Fashion Show and Senior Awards

WHEN: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Goldstein Auditorium

COST: Tickets for tonight’s show are sold out

Published on April 28, 2005 at 12:00 pm