Fashion's Future Leaders
About 800 fashion design and merchandise students from Southern California community colleges turned out for the California Community College Fashion Symposium on March 6 at the California Market Center in Los Angeles.
Guest speakers included Chris Amaral, fashion professor at Orange Coast College, and several staffers from action-sports label Volcom, including Derek Sabori, director of design and merchandising; Neil Harrison, creative director of boys’ apparel; and Renee Heinz-Baldwin, production planning manager.
Afterward, students toured the contemporary showrooms on the CMC’s fifth floor and met with apparel industry representatives from Hurley International, The Walt Disney Co., Fashion Business Incorporated, 24 Seven Inc. and Design Options for career advice. Several students participated in a T-shirt contest judged by Toby Munitz from the Print House and Ben Soto from Paul Frank Industries. Representatives from each school participated in a 30- minute denim destruction contest that was set up to encourage student creativity. The student design team from Orange Coast College won the contest by creating a denim fox boa from a pair of Volcom jeans.
Later, students enjoyed a 2004 trend forecast by Design Options, followed by a Spring/Summer fashion show in the CMC’s fashion theater. —Claudia Figueroa
