By Michael Del Genio
Dominican University’s annual fashion show is in the works as showtimes open up Friday, April 11, 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, April 12, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., in the Social Hall.
The show theme, Mosaics of the Night, is a celebration for many seniors, who have worked yearlong on four original pieces of clothing.
McKinley Johnson, the director of the show and fashion professor, says “the senior collections are a culmination of all the work that goes into a designer’s process.”
“It’s good for them because this is the first time they’ve ever had to think of a cold collection, build it, and put it together,” he explained.
Senior Moxie Devan has worked on a three-piece collection inspired by the early ’90s as well as her own exploration of gender and the relationship between masculine and feminine. As a psychology major with a minor in fashion, her goal is to explore the how and why of human behavior.
“Why do we wear what we wear? How do we [apply] and influence that?” she says.
Devan takes pride in her work, praising her pieces’ design and craftsmanship, one being a suit.
“I’ll wear my suit, it’s a walking portfolio [and a] professional wear. I’m actually a walking billboard,” she highlighted.
Senior Albina Ikizli says designing “one outfit can take you up to three to four weeks” to complete since she is often working on pieces for “12-13 hours a day.”
“[For my] process, I did a collection of four outfits, [but I] had to scratch all of it and do a new one,” she explained. [I then] came up with a completely new four-outfit collection. It was painful and irritating, but worth the effort.”
Her inspiration for her collection had come from a hat she saw online and decided to make a big hat with a “killer outfit underneath.” Each outfit of her collection has something that relates to the other.
Having interned for ZZAZZ Productions, a design company, Ikizli hopes to work with them more on different fashion shows as well as design costumes for people and take pictures. However, her goal is to be a senior fashion designer who works on custom-made pieces that she crafts.
As seniors prepare for their year-long collection to be showcased, sophomore Laila Bahena has challenged herself to make a piece inspired by her Puerto Rican heritage.
“I wanted to show Puerto Rico’s essence without saying Puerto Rico blatantly or draw the flag on the wall,” she says.
Bahena embraces all her roots in her design and uses it to celebrate the beauty of Puerto Rico and the Taíno.
Inspiration comes from everywhere in the fashion department as they put many hours into their collections and various pieces. The process and inspiration vary from person to person, but all are excited for everyone to see their work.
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