California College of the Arts (CCA) Fashion Design Chair Amy Williams said at the beginning of the show that it’s the school’s 13th annual fashion show, which interestingly was held on Friday, the 13th of May. Very exciting for me personally, because believe it or not, 13 is one of my lucky numbers :)

OK, let’s start the show, shall we? The show was jam-packed with students, parents, local press and media, as well as fashionistas that couldn’t wait what CCA students were about to present on the runway. I have to add though, everybody in the tent was so supportive and cheerful; every single look that was presented got warm applauses. Go CCA students!

The show started with the presentation of Fashioning Functional Gear, a result of a special collaboration between junior Fashion and Industrial Design students.  Seven looks were presented (I like most of them) as a banging show opener:

Halley Toelle: Modified Footwear
Cool backpack to a bad-ass handbag? I’m sold.

Anna Huang: Convertible Coat
Love the color and shape of the jacket, and the detachable skirt is cute, but….that’s it? OK. She later presented her senior collection titled “Nympheas”.

James Zormeir: Emergence
This is what I wrote on my notebook: “???”. I….appreciate the textures and the edgy touches to the uh, garment, but I’m afraid I cannot truly appreciate this look. But I’m sure one of you cool cats out there can dig this jacket.

Jessica Chan: Comfort Jacket
OK, when the model opened up the jacket and the crowd started hollering madly, I almost thought he was  naked underneath. But no, it’s an owl-patterned beige sweater. What’s the drama about, audience?

Andrew Hauris: Reflex Session Suit
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s….a pink suit-wearing skate boarding dude. Who disappeared just as fast as he appeared on the runway. Yep, you read that right. Don’t believe me? See the evidence in the gallery below.

Mike Caroselli: Trapasso Bag System
Cool name for a slim square bag. I’m sure this can fly at Rolo.  Too bad I couldn’t see what magazine the model was pulling out from the bag, because I sure would love to know what the audience was laughing about.

Sachi Henrietta: Industrial Felt Dual-Strap Cycling Pack
Gosh, this model was smizing the whole time he was on the runway. I mean, forget about the bag (which, after looking at the pictures afterwards, was totally awesome)! I was mesmerized by that model’s smizing eyes. Hypnotic.

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OK, so the Fashioning Functional Gear show was wrapped with all that smize and shortly after, the Senior Collection was launched in full swing:

1. Ana Zaharia: Flora
Pretty and light, I felt the collection peaked at the 4th look. The 5th and final look seemed a bit too ambitious for me, and it looked a little bit messy in construction. But I do love the dress Ana’s wearing when she walked with her model at the end of the show.

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2. Sloane Groenveld: Geodesic Psycho Babble
I like the simplicity of the first look, just OK with the 2nd, like the combination of pieces for the 3rd, and not so fond of the final look. I felt that the fitting was kind of iffy on the bust line.

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3. Jacky Safer: Patina
Ah, the attires reminds me of the popular video game Assassin’s Creed (which I thoroughly enjoyed; looking forward for the 3rd piece of its trilogy this fall), especially the 1st look. The brown color, hooded top, wide belt…very nice. The overall collection is well constructed and concluded with a pretty gown (even though it’s probably not the easiest to walk in).

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4. Mariana Moreno-Gonzalez: Hollow Grounds
I really dig the first look and I wish I look as hot as that model rocking it on the runway, but the piece that I truly want from this collection is the long dove grey coat on the 3rd look. Gimme.

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5. Alexandra Canter: All Tomorrow’s Parties
I really want to like this collection, I really do. But how can I think of fun, flirty cocktail dresses when I saw poor fitting on the bust lines for the first two out of three dresses? I was so distracted.

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6. Anna Huang: Nympheas
Gosh, what a gorgeous first look. So pure, and the model is perfect. Anna put out a great variety of shapes and silhouettes and she did all of them very, very well.

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7. Johnny Paul Vera: Female Manifestation
One of my favorites of the night. Congratulations Johnny, for getting an internship at Nicole Miller! Truly well-deserved and a no-brainer really, after seeing all the gorgeous, well-fitted, nicely constructed classic pieces with modern twist. LOVE!

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8. Sam E. Winberg: Umbra
I’m not a fan of the first look, but the collection grew stronger with each look. Like the 3rd and 4th looks the most.

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9. Patricia Lucia Arroyo: Ardour
This lady brought the wow factor that’s missing so far in the fashion show. Patricia, the Surface Magazine’s Emerging Designer Scholarship Award winner, delivered a stand-out collection with creative details and strong but not-loud drama. I love the 5th and final look the most (send me to the Colosseum!).

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10. Marcela Lucia Cole: Amor Y Guerra
The variety of silhouettes and bold kimono colors Marcela presented encapsulated the overall feel of the whole fashion show: fun, full of variety of shapes and colors, creative, cohesive, and overall well thought-out. Her designs are actually my 3rd favorite of the night. Strong and lovely with a punch of earthy colors.

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Congratulations to all the Class of 2011 Student Designers who keep working hard to make their dreams a reality. CCA students definitely have promising talents and creative point-of-view, and I wish everyone the best in their career.

Take care,
Musank