WOODBURY UNIVERSITY RUNWAY SHOW
Alice in Wonderland Meets Streetwear and Fabergé
For its 50th runway show, Woodbury University showcased the work of its fashion design and costume design students at the Burbank, Calif.–based design school’s May 8 runway gala at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. The event marked the first time Woodbury took a bow at Club Nokia.
Setting the colorful tone of the evening were the “Alice in Wonderland”–inspired designs by students in Woodbury’s costume design department. Graduating senior Tina Pogosian designed the looks of Wonderland’s Red Queen and her court. Pogosian outfitted the Red Queen in a Tudor-era gown that was made surreal. The front panel of the queen’s gown was stripped away, revealing a series of staircase-like straps.
Another senior, Britnee Holmquist, made the conventional Alice look—a blue dress and white apron—but made it more playful with ballet dress–like details.
Kelly Jerski, a senior, designed the look for the Cheshire Cat, with a headdress bearing graphics of many eyes. The dress for the story’s White Queen was designed by Vicky Miranda and Jessica Zavala. The queen’s dress was inspired by the Japanese art of origami.
Graduating seniors also opted for bright and bold during their runway shows. Kate Anderson mixed Japanese street style and California skateboarding looks for her show. Lu Liu’s senior runway show featured neon colors and some Asian silhouettes. Sara Monsour displayed a line that mixed Middle Eastern inspirations with Western looks, including some graphics of arabesques with sheer fabrics of her line’s scarves and jackets. Angie Ortiz made activewear with a futuristic edge in her Tesselated collection. Grecia Rodriguez mixed Nicaraguan motifs and avant looks. Cynthia Arias used some recycled fabrics for her line, which is inspired by Latin American culture as well as designer lines Stella McCartney and Ralph Lauren.
Woodbury’s junior, sophomore and freshman classes also displayed their design chops at the show. The junior class was given the assignment of creating collections inspired by famous towns such as Malibu, Calif., and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Silver Lake and Hollywood. Sophomores designed swimwear inspired by Fabergé eggs as well as Thai jewelry. They also made a contemporary line inspired by the Amish people of Pennsylvania. Freshmen were required to make backless dresses from Kona cotton, which featured a 1980s color scheme.
Making appearances at the show were mentors to the fashion design department, designers Ashton Hirota and Jared Gold. Fashion department chair Kathryn Hagen said the apparel know-how of Woodbury students has been getting more sophisticated. “We did our own embroidery, our own original prints, silkscreens. Everything was custom-done. The level of hands-on crafts is increasingly distinguishing the department.”
