For the first time in Utah, the Fashion’s Night Out show, which celebrates fashion throughout many cities in the United States, was held at the Fashion Place Mall in Murray on Thursday, Sept. 6.
The event offered giveaways, discounts at local stores, live fashion shows, personalized fashion illustrations and exclusive fashion tips from design expert Rachael Domingo.
Students at the SLCC Fashion Institute were integral to the show, and provided 40 different styles of outfits which they designed at Salt Lake Community College.
“I was highly impressed with the work produced by the Fashion Institute students,” said Fashion Place marketing director Natalie Watson. “It is clear there is a great passion driving these fashion designers and it was a pleasure to see the beautiful pieces showcased in the fashion show.”
On the Catwalk
KSL anchors Jennifer Hardman and Stephanie Avis hosted the runway show, discussed the latest trends of this season and introduced young designers work to the fashion community.
The runway show consisted of three different performances. The first show was the Vintage inspired look and had outfits from the 1920s to 1960s.
The second performance was the “every day look,” and included sportswear and clothing for business, which was designed by less advanced students.
The final presentation was reserved for “evening wear.” These outfits were designed with higher-end customers in mind, and showcased the more complex skills required to design elegant clothing.
Designer fashion
For many student designers, this show offered a unique chance to get exposure to the fashion world on a larger scale. Nicole Kleinman was one of the fifteen designers from Salt Lake Community College who took the opportunity to show her craft at the Fashion’s Night Out event.
“My favorite process in designing is construction, putting pieces together and watching how it develops into a real piece of clothing,” said Kleinman. “I like to make new outfits from old patterns like from the 80s with the feel of today’s fashion.”
Kleinman is a young designer who has been interested in design since she was eight years old. She used to sew cloths for her dolls. Back then, she couldn’t have imagined that she would be a designer for a big run way show like Fashion’s Night Out.
“The Fashion Club at SLCC created the “Chocolate Couture” event last year at the South Town Mall, in Sandy,” said Mojdeh Sakaki, director of the SLCC Fashion Institute. “That’s how the idea had grown into organizing the Fashion’s Night Out event in collaboration with Fashion Place and Fashion Institute of Salt Lake Community College.”
Fashion’s Night Out started in New York City in 2009 a response to the effect that September 11 had on the fashion world. The idea was to revive the economy and make the shopping experience once again fun and exciting.
By 2010, retailers embraced a worldwide event in their cities. This year, Fashion Place Mall brought Utah into the Fashion’s Night Out tradition.
Fashion Place also organized a silent auction of fashion items after the runway show. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the auction went to the Fashion Institute scholarship fund at Salt Lake Community College.
