COLUMN: Out on the catwalk – Fashion!
Fashion! Turn to the left. Fashion! Turn to the right. Oooh, fashion! I’m not quite sure why just the mention of the word fashion sends David Bowie’s song rushing through my head.
Of course there are hundreds of thousands of songs involving fashion. And why not? No matter what you wear you are wearing some sort of fashion. Whether we notice or not, every piece of clothing had to be designed and constructed by someone at sometime. Every garment is a creation. Every artist has his or her show, and so do fashion designers – The Fashion Show.
The Bridgerland Applied Technology Center’s Brigham City campus recently held its Spring Show modeling more than 100 pieces, most of which were designed and constructed by their fashion program’s students. The show featured five of the adult students and one of the high school students works April 1 and 2, under the title, “Vision!”
The title was picked to describe, fittingly, what goes into fashion. The designers have to create the clothes, but that’s not all. They, just as any artist, have to think about the presentation. They picked the music and choreographed their sets for a complete presentation of their designs. To bring all of these aspects together, the designers must have a complete vision of their work.
They get inspiration for their designs from movies, dreams, media, nature and of course their instructor, Laura Bitner. One set was based off the movie “Chicago,” and another used mirrors. Picnics, birds, and fairies were other themes, but the last set of the show was saved for the title theme, Vision!
Its dresses incorporated eyes into the design.
Fashion is quite literally all about vision. From the visions of the designers, the pieces are placed into view for others. They are made to be seen.
Fashion shows are interactive. They try to be as visually pleasing as possible, and add music to entice another sense. The Bridgerland fashion program’s show goes a step further to please its audience, focusing on the idea of entertainment where other shows focus merely on selling a product. The show focuses more on giving the designers a chance to make their ideas into something.
The students must go through the complete process of concept to finished product. This includes doing much of the sewing themselves. Ninety-five percent of the designer’s set is put together by the designer alone. The designers said they find themselves asking why they got into this, but they ended by saying it is definitely worth it.
They aren’t required to be a student designer for the fashion show as part of the curriculum, but the show is a way to put into practice everything they have learned. For the program, the students complete 12 workbooks, usually over a one-year period. The books and classes discuss nine major areas of fashion from history to textiles, models to cosmetics and promotion and sales techniques, not to mention visual design. They cover just about everything to get the students where they want to be. This ranges from fashion design production to fashion product ,development to owning their own boutique.
Another aspect the show couldn’t go on without is the models. The models for this show were picked through tryouts using presentation of skills and interview sessions. They are designed to give the applicants a taste of what it is like to interview for a job. The models must be aged 13 to 18 and in high school. They go through an introductory workshop before the tryouts and then after tryouts they have practice sessions every Saturday for five hours.
This may sound like a lot of time, but this show attracts model scouts who are looking to be recruited. This show’s fashion board consisted of 35 models. Bridger-land’s fashion program holds a fashion show every fall and spring, and usually sell sout quickly.
Michael Sharp is a junior majoring in German and a photographer for the Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to michael sharp@ cc.usu.edu.
Two models flaunt elaborate headdresses of fleathers as part of Stevie Ekins set for the BATC Fashion Show, Vision. Ekins designed and constructed the clothing herself. (Photo by Michael Sharp)
Clothes hang on racks waiting for the BATC fashion show. The pieces were used for for the grand finale of the show, themed (Photo by Michael Sharp)
Vision was the theme for the BATC Fashion show last weekend. (Photo by Michael Sharp)