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Otis College of Art and Design’s 32nd Annual Scholarship Benefit and Fashion Show

Leon Max, the founder of Los Angeles–based MaxStudio; the husband-and-wife design team of Isabel and Ruben Toledo; and action-sports executive Michael Egeck were honored on May 3 at the Otis College of Art and Design’s 32nd Annual Scholarship Benefit and Fashion Show, held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, where attendees helped raise nearly $1 million to support the design school’s scholarship program.

Nearly 85 percent of Otis students receive some form of tuition support, said Shelley E. Reid, chair of the 2014 benefit committee and a member of Otis’ board of governors.

One of those students, Natalie Salvador, addressed the guests. Salvador explained that she decided to study fashion design after pursuing other fields, including co-organizing Hope in the City, a fashion event to benefit the LA Downtown Women’s Center. The mother of three looked at several fashion programs before deciding that “Otis was the right—yet very expensive—option.”

“I am just one of many students who would not be graduating without your generous support,” she said.

Samuel Hoi, who is stepping down after 14 years as president of Otis, addressed the guests, as did Rosemary Brantley, founding chair of the Otis Fashion Design Program, before presenting the evening’s awards.

In accepting his Creative Vision Award, Egeck told the crowd that he had three job offers when he graduated from college. One was Rainier National Bank, another was with Union Bay Sportswear, and the third was with “a tiny company called Microsoft.” Egeck took the job at Union Bay, launching his apparel career, which has included Nike’s Hurley International division, VF Corp.’s North American Outdoor business, The North Face Inc., Columbia Sportswear Co. and his current position as chief executive officer of Eddie Bauer.

“It’s been a great ride. I’ve never looked back,” he said.

Max received the Design Legend Award, describing it as “an embarrassingly grand name” in his acceptance speech. Max founded MaxStudio in 1979 and began mentoring Otis students in 1984. “I met my second wife in a class I was mentoring,” he said. These days, Max spends much of his time on his 600-acre estate in England, but he acknowledged many in the room “have contributed in insignificant but important ways to the quality of life,” adding, “Life is short; you should fill your life with beauty.”

Designer Isabel Toledo and illustrator Ruben Toledo received the Design Innovation Award. Isabel Toledo, who recently designed a collection for plus-size retailer Lane Bryant, was instrumental in getting Lane Bryant involved in Otis’ mentorship program. Her assignment for students was to design plus-size fashions for the retailer that were “intelligent and modern but joyful.”

‘This was a wonderful project for the students,” she said.

Ruben Toledo created the “Spirit of Fashion” illustration for the Scholarship Benefit event.

The other designer mentors of Otis’s junior and senior students included Rod Beattie of Bleu with Erika Kane for Mattel, who instructed their students to create Malibu Barbie–inspired swimwear for women ages 18 to 24; Dosa designer Christina Kim, whose students created separates inspired by the Huntington Library’s Flower Market with an emphasis on recycled fabrics and handwork; MaxStudio’s Amé Austin Max, whose students created tailored sportswear inspired by the architecture of Luis Barragan; and Johnny Was’ Biya Ramar, who instructed her students to create a gypsy-inspired collection influenced by the national costumes of dancers from Pakistan, Mexico, Romania, Thailand and Spain.

Eddie Bauer’s Robert Tuggle had his students recycle Eddie Bauer clothing into “suburban trekking gear for a post-apocalyptic setting,” Under Armour’s Maru Aldea instructed her students to design multifunctional childrenswear, and Todd Oldham challenged his students to create modern sportswear and dresses that were both inspired by and respectful of Native American culture.

Students mentored by Nike’s Howard Lichter, Jarrett Reyolds and Adrian Nyman created uniforms for NYC’s Central Park Run Crew, which were modeled by runners on the runway. David Meister’s students created multipurpose jersey dresses that transformed in a variety of surprising ways. Cocktail-length dresses became floor-length, strapless styles suddenly featured dramatic angel sleeves, and design details changed with a drape of fabric.

The show closed with designs by students mentored by Western Costume’s Bobi Garland. Instructed to create costumes for “dance throughout the decades,” the results—ranging from ball gowns to flapper styles to disco-inspired separates—were modeled by dancers who performed to music from the era.