From mind-blowing Wild West evening wear to sexy sustainable clothes for the
year 2020, the 185 outfits by 51 seniors and 64 juniors of Otis College of Art
+ Design at the school’s recent 2005 scholarship benefit and fashion show demonstrated
just what can happen when schoolwork is assigned by the likes of Bob Mackie
and Vera Wang. Students worked from very specific guidelines given by an impressive
list of class mentors, who, in addition to Mackie and Wang, included Michelle
Mason, Eduardo Lucero, John Varvatos, David Cardona and Sheri Bodell as well
as companies such as Banana Republic. One group of juniors had to create ensembles
that reflected “cowboy punk meets English country gentleman for the band Felonius
Priest performing at a rock concert.” Like I said, very specific. And while
I was curious what the students would have come up with on their own, the purpose
of the instructions was to help these budding designers understand how to develop
a look as well as train them to do research. Knowing why Madeleine Vionnet,
for instance, pioneered the bias cut as well as the technique itself makes for
a more accomplished and innovative designer.
Meet fashion’s future.



Designer: Danielle Malmgren
Mentor: David Cardona
Direction: Focus on hand-tailoring in creating looks inspired by English
equestrian style.




Designer: Christine Geiger
Mentor: Bob Mackie
Direction: Research authentic 19th-century Western Native American and
Spanish costume to create evening looks that capture the romance and
splendor of the old West.



Designer: Nurit Yeshurun
Mentor: Eduardo Lucero
Direction: Focus on hand-tailoring inspired by old-world couture, particularly
the designers Christian Dior, Mainbocher and Balenciaga.



Designer: Katie Thrash
Mentor: Michelle Mason
Direction: Focus on hand-tailoring emphasizing graphic piecing, seaming
and color blocking.



Designer: Debbie Sabet
Mentor: John Varvatos
Direction: Design a collection for men and women inspired by the early
’70s.



Designers (from left): Regina Rodriguez, Azadeh Nooryani,
Benjamin Vital III, Kirk Heifner, Stephanie Burkart
Mentor: Patagonia/Wanda Weller
Direction: For the year 2020 create five essential and efficient pieces
around the concept of complete sustainability, recyling and reuse.



Designers (from left): Marcus LeBlanc, Lolly Zhong, Mary Timmons
Mentor: The North Face/Robert Tuggle
Direction: Design clothing using state-of-the-art technical fabrics
for a family in the future where surviving the elements is just another
part of daily living.



Designers (from left): Karen Hieda, Yoori Park, Helen
Chung
Mentor: La Blanca/Rod Beattie
Direction: Create a glamorous and sophisticated swim collection inspired
by ancient Greek and Roman dress incorporating Swarovksi crystals.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.