Audible gasps and cameras galore brought the ASU FIDM Fashion Show to life, where ASU students showcased fashion projects to a large audience at Scottsdale Fashion Square on April 18.
The 25 graduating fashion design students' collections varied in concepts.
Elijah Samuels, a senior studying fashion, constructed his five looks based on the fabric, silk taffeta.
Samuels learned that the military used silk before the invention of nylon, and wanted to showcase how the military has inspired modern fashion.
Samuels' collections try to communicate the loss of utilitarian designs.
"A lot of men's wear is inspired by the military, but it doesn't evoke military at all anymore," Samuels said. "But, it's our highest form of dress."
Clothing pieces such as cargo pants and cargo shorts were originally meant to be worn for the use of carrying maps and other things in the field, but many now wear them casually in day-to-day life, Samuels said.
His experimental use of Japanese selvedge denim and separating threads of taffeta resulted in a mix of men's and women's silhouettes.
Giovanna Manzo, a senior studying fashion, experimented with her interest in knitwear and lingerie design. Lingerie design is not a topic that is necessarily covered in design classes, causing Manzo to hesitate at first, but she persevered with trial and error.
"My collection is basically a fusion of knitwear and lingerie," Manzo said. "Lingerie coming from the misconception of pleasure, and how people often associate it with sexual pleasure when it actually is referring to intrinsic pleasure."
The emphasis of pleasure in Manzo's collection comes from the concept of hedonism. She based this concept on her own intrinsic pleasures — handcraftsmanship, femininity and texture.
"What sets my collection apart is that each piece is naturally garment dyed," Manzo said. "I use soy milk as a protein binder, rather than using chemicals, and create dye baths from fresh produce."
Rylee Garvey, a senior studying fashion, based her collection on Viking glassware, which originated in the 1940s, but it had a resurgence in the 1960s and 1970s. The pieces are handblown, swung glass vases which come in an array of colors.
Garvey's grandmother and mother grew up going to estate sales and thrifting for the glassware. This was the way the two connected, similar to how Garvey and her mother connect now.
"It always just felt like such a magical thing that I could have this generational connection to my mom and to my grandmother," Garvey said. "I've never met my grandmother either, so that's the importance of it.”
Nicole Ruiz, a senior studying fashion, combined women's street wear and architecture in her collection. It is inspired by the hidden details of the city, such as texture, shapes and structures.
Ruiz translated that idea into designing adjustable pieces that allow the wearer to decide how much she would like to reveal or keep hidden. The collection is one that is stylish but comfortable and wearable.
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Nicole Vizcarra, a senior studying fashion, made the connection between butterflies and Latinos.
"Butterflies are constantly having to flee their native country," Vizcarra said. "And unfortunately, Latinos are having to do the same thing, where they're having to flee their native countries, their homes."
She wanted her looks to relate to her culture and for observers to feel proud of their background.
Remington Reble, program manager for ASU FIDM, said the final walk, where the student designers walk alongside their collections down the runway, is "triumphant".
"How much time and effort goes into these collections ... you feel the tension release after that," Reble said. "The mood afterward is celebratory."
Edited by Jack McCarthy, Henry Smardo and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at csfishe4@asu.edu.
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