Emphasizing the many hours of hard work each students poured into making their senior collection, California College of the Arts 2015 Fashion Show featured 13 emerging fashion talents. Photos by Christian Hadidjaja.

Going to California College of the Arts every year for the graduation fashion show is tremendously exciting. Wondering whether the tent would survive the ridiculously strong wind by the end of the night is always part of the experience of California College of the Arts student fashion show. When some photographers were nervous about falling lights and the videographer looked a little unsure, that’s when you know the wind was especially lively this year.

But just like every other year, the California College of the Arts 2015 Fashion Show went off swimmingly. The range of creative talents from all 13 student designers were on full display on Friday, May 15, 2015 in California College of the Arts (CCA) campus, 1111 8th Street. Special congratulations to all the production staff working behind the scene for this well organized and punctual show! You made it look effortless.

Shortly after 7pm, CCA President Stephen Beal made his brief remarks before Program Chair Amy Williams made a passionate speech about clothing. More specifically, the process to make a piece of clothing.

“Think about who made your clothes. Not the brand or label, but the process: who made the cloth, the textile, the design, cut and sew,” she said.

Paul Dillinger, Head of Global Product Innovation of Levi Strauss & Co., briefly took the stage to reiterate the company’s supports to the school, one of which is providing free fabrics to the students.

Before the first collection graced the runway, Amy Williams reminded everyone that each collections would only have 3 minutes on the runway. This would not fully represent the 460 hours worth of fashion design work per student, 4096 days total. By no means the finished garments are fast fashion. These are real fashion for real people; each of the 13 students are garment makers and story tellers. With that, the show began!

You can browse all of the 13 collections, complete with each designer’s finale walk photos below. As always, many thanks to Christian Hadidjaja for the great photos. Enjoy!

Photos by Christian Hadidjaja

Berg Chen

Kami
This collection was inspired by “forms and dimensions of objects and art.” The folds on the garments clearly indicate Berg Chen’s design style and potentials. That being said, the first look was the strongest. It was artfully modern.
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Tim Ho

King’s Gambit
Tim Ho designed the garments “to instill confidence and strength.” Inspired by fantasy armors, he infused some street cred to bring it to modern men. The wool coats, denim, and graphic prints made a cool showing, with the 3rd look having the most swagger. I think the 4th and 5th looked a little costume-y, but overall it’s a solid collection.
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Tiana Rashae

Chrysalis
I love the textiles used for this collection; I want the last three looks! Tiana Rashae wanted to “depict growth and change over recent years – from unsettlement to shedding the disarray to sharing the strength and beauty within.”
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Vanina Howan

Seasalt
Ah, one of my favorite collections of the evening. They’re flowy, relaxed, easy, and that shibori dyed robe! Moreover, keeping up with CCA’s reputation in sustainability, Vanina Howan’s garments not only long lasting, but they can also be recycled.
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Emily Hundley

Mirage
When I saw Emily Hundley’s ‘Mirage’ collection, the phrase asymmetrical liquid came to mind. This intriguing collection “reflects the distortion through which we view our bodies…inspired by the optics and rigidity of a broken mirror.” It’s an introspective collection that reminded us of our own self-perceptions.
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Robert Adrian Morel

Vanity
The golden queens! Full of layers and bold, Robert Morel’s collection was a projection of transformative glamour. It peels away the extravagance to reveal the essence of performance within.
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Stephanie Bergmann

Sassy Cats
There’s nothing not to like about three girls with balloons going down the runway, smiles on their faces. It was purrfectly cute, with the garments spruced up with cat details.
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Jessica Tou

Gloriana
Jessica Tou described this collection as “a renaissance for the modern woman.” Her creativity has great potentials, and there were elements of her design I wished were pushed further.
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Sophia Jain-Embry

Lorelei
This is my most favorite collection of the evening (I guess I like oceans more than I thought!) Sophia Jain-Embry was “inspired by women, who like the ocean itself, are calm like water yet as powerful as waves.” Amen to that! I love the textures of the garments, made of fabrics with environmental focus…and I pretty much want them all! Love the movement of the fabrics…so gorgeous.
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Farah Q. Faizi

Disangled
How can I not smile when finding out Farah Faizi’s collection “depicts the tangled story of an artist who work in a corporate office and who questions why?” The garments are creative, cheeky and fun in their visually disorienting way. The drapes of those garments were particularly well done! This is definitely on my Top 3 of the evening.
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Nina Sturmfels

Cursive
Last year, we got a model walking down the runway eating chips. This year, another one was blowing bubbles. Nina Sturmfels’ collection feels like a fun bathing experience, emphasizing “textural surface decoration, repetition, and asymmetry found in art that creates an environment.”
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Sara A. Ahli

Multiply
In my opinion, the better menswear collection of the two presented. Just like Sara Ahli’s intention, the models really looked like “walking pieces of architecture” on that runway. And that outfit she wore during the finale? Fabulous.
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Hao Dong

Hao R U
Ah, the big winner of the night! Hao Dong’s millennial cool collection won her the 7×7 Emerging Designer Award, presented by Natalie Wages. Her collection is all about personal, individualistic view, which “embraces modern urban life and pop culture, while making a statement about fast fashion and mass label devotees.” I definitely want the blue sweatshirt with the space hamburger!
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Once again, congratulations to all students presenting their collection during California College of the Arts 2015. Some are ready-to-wear, some are conceptual, some are both things, but most importantly, all of them are fun. Clearly your family and friends are rooting for your continued success, so I also wish you all the best and good luck in your fashion career!

Thanks for reading; until next time,
Musank

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