On the Catwalk

Student designers showcase talents

Siddarth Puri
Published: Sunday, April 13, 2003

DKNY, BCBG and FCUK: Get ready to meet your newest competitor in the world of fashion: FAST.

Cue the lights. Polish the catwalk. It’s time to sashay and shantay with the newest creations from student designers at this year’s Fashion And Student Trends’ fashion show, “Addiction,” Monday, April 21 in Ackerman Grand Ballroom.

In addition to showcasing the clothing of five student designers, the student-organized fashion show will also include major designers such as BCBG and Hype. This isn’t some tired way of showing regular young-adult fashion, but it is rather a way to give college students an idea of how to be sartorially creative and reach beyond the confines of their Abercrombie & Fitch sweats and flip-flops.

“We started this organization three years ago with the hopes of giving more students a chance at expressing their talents in the world of fashion,” said Arthur Pogosian, a third-year sociology and business/economics student as well as the designer and president of the FAST organization. “We want to promote fashion and design and give a chance to student designers to display their creations.”

As the title connotes, the theme of this year’s show is addiction. According to Pogosian, this theme is perfect for the exhibition as it shows that fashion is a competitive industry and to “make it,” student designers have to be addicted to fashion: They have to eat, drink and sleep fashion.

The show isn’t organized by season; rather, it’s divided into three sections: the first, casual and dressy; the second, a more urban look; and the last one, a European look, according to Pogosian. The student designers and their lines have been dispersed throughout the different sections.

The student designers have capitalized on this year’s fashion trends. The trends include the military look (with a twist), which takes away the camouflage colors and replaces them with solid dark colors and keeps the cargo pants. The more urban contemporary look is also in with brighter colors from the ’60s that contrasts the “darker” look that characterizes darker clothing complemented with smoky eye shadow.

A student showcased in the performance is Elena Keys, a fourth-year sociology student. Inspired by the lack of clothing provided for students in Ackerman, she decided to make her own line called Epidemik, which is aimed at women who want something feminine and flattering while staying comfortable and casual.

“I’m a big sports fan and never found anything fun or cute to wear to any of the games,” said Keys. “So I decided to make a line that included fitted clothes decorated with sparkles and rhinestones to make something for the women to wear not only to sporting events, but also to clubs and parties and even on casual days.”

Student designers are not only setting trends in women’s sports fashion, but are even sewing together their own lines. Kiki Miller, a first-year business/economics student sits in her Saxon Hall suite sewing together lime green, red and orange fabrics for her line, which she calls “Kiki.” While primarily focusing on contemporary urban designs, she is also making clothes for everyday occasions as well as parties and clubs.

Pogosian’s own line also will be featured in the show. Called “Azature” (his real name); Pogosian uses a variety of blacks and whites with jagged cuts

“I wanted my line to reflect the growing idea of consumers becoming more alike and looking more and more similar everyday,” said Pogosian.

The fashion show, furthermore, incorporates dancers along with makeovers for viewers and even give-aways. This unorthodoxly casual fashion show hopes to create a relaxed environment for students to come and see trends from the runways of Milan and Paris, according to Pogosian, as well as provide ideas for students to add some pizazz to their own wardrobes.

“I’m the kind of person who goes shopping and buys clothes but then tweaks them so that they’re different and uniquely styled,” said Keys. “I hate wearing the same exact clothes as someone else – I have to add a little bit of my own style and flair to everything I wear.”

For all the dancers, designers, models and even the students scrambling to scribble fashion tips, in the immortal words of Ru Paul: You betta’ work it!