April 11, 2017
By Mary Alice Maloney
The lights dimmed, the crowd hushed, and the bass dropped. The first model strutted out onto the diamond-shaped runway, and “Exhibition” had officially begun. Fashion and art intersected and came to life in the Lund Auditorium on April 1 and April 2 as the 2017 apparel class presented their hard work, creativity, and vision to friends, family, professionals, and members of the Dominican community.
The first portion of the show featured category designs, which showcased garments designed by students from various apparel design courses offered at Dominican. Each category highlighted a specific aspect of design, ranging from the introductory exploration of clothing construction to the examination of niche garment designs and markets. Other categories included “Inspired Silhouettes,” “Sculpted Art,” “Outside The Box,” and “Characters Alive.”
The second portion of the show showcased six senior collections, which featured designs created by senior Apparel Design students. Each designer illustrated their own theme and aesthetic in their collection. Allison Bunag debuted “Contrast,” a design reinterpretation of traditional Chinese wear that offered a contemporary twist on tradition with innovative elegance. Gabrielle Faloona unveiled “A Ragged Fantasy,” a collection of fantasy costumes that glorified the woman who is not all together but holds creativity and uniqueness within herself. Elizabeth Eaton introduced “Heritage,” a collection that juxtaposed classic silhouettes with dazzling embroidery, detail work, and daring, flowy fabrics. Jacquie Wallaert shared “Ethereal,” a collection that featured four garments constructed entirely out of fabric scraps, unwanted garments, remnant materials and vintage fabrics. The collection promotes a cleaner fashion industry. Quinlan Milne-Rojek presented “Florid,” a collection inspired by the demasculinization of menswear through slight variations of silhouettes with a focus on floral textures. Last but not least, Jacquelyn Braun revealed “Inked,” a collection inspired by tribal tattoos to show the elegance, boldness, and overall sleek look that tattoos bring to the body.
Rachael Stewart, a Dominican student in attendance at the show, enjoyed watching every moment of “Exhibiton.” “It blew away my expectations and I was so impressed with the creativity, precision, and talent that the students had” she said. “I have some friends who showed off their senior collections and it was so cool to see the result of their hard work come to life.”
This year’s featured alumna was designer Rose Mae Turner ’07 who showcased “Lunar,” a resort swimwear collection fresh for the 2017 season. Turner is the founder and head designer of Rosina~Mae, a contemporary women’s-wear line that specializes in sustainable beachwear, swimwear, and apparel. Turner’s fashion line is currently manufactured in Manhattan’s Garment District in New York City. President Donna Carroll presented Turner with the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the end of the Sunday April 2 show.
President Carroll also presented other student awards on Sunday. Senior Quinlan Milne-Rojek won the award for Outstanding Senior Collection while fellow senior Elizabeth Eaton won the award for Outstanding Individual Design. Members of the junior class were recognized for their work when junior Justin Suon was awarded with the Up & Coming Designer award, as well as the Carole Zucco Award for Excellence in Design. Junior Aja Saverson was awarded with the Carole Zucco Award for Excellence in Merchandising and junior Amy Diaz-Hablich won the award for Excellence in Merchandising.
Bill Kerr, a professor who teaches graphic design in the art department here at Dominican, was impressed with the artistic and professional caliber of “Exhibition.” Kerr said: “The direction and concept of the show including the layout of the runway to the choice of music, the level of fit, finish and creativity of the fashions and even the photography and design of the programs was the most cohesive and unified I’ve seen in the decade that I’ve been attending these shows. For anyone who missed out, there’s always next year’s show to which you can look forward!”
malomarya@my.dom.edu