The Salt Lake Community College Fashion Institute held their annual senior collections runway show April 21 at the South City Campus atrium.
The senior collections runway show provides an opportunity for graduating fashion students to showcase their very own clothing collection line. This year, 12 students participated and presented their clothing line on the runway.
The catwalk design and the theme for the runway show are different each year. The theme for 2018 featured an outdoor jungle-like feel, with only one catwalk tier. There were backdrops with jungle leaves and trees, and natural trees that usually sit around South City Campus were placed along the catwalk to make the audience feel like they were a part of the show.
Wanessa Ferreira told The Globe what inspired her to make the designs in her collection.
“My inspiration was from my Brazilian culture with American culture. I wanted to make elements of both culture to make my collection,” she said.
Ferreira said her favorite dress that she designed required some special attention.
“I just love the construction of it, because I made it with Tulle, and it’s really hard fabric to work with, especially for the top. It was really hard to make that look because it was so tight. So I think that one is my favorite just because it was so hard to make it,” she explained.
Fashion student Sara Thompson made her whole collection with a touch of fantasy and fairy tales. Her designs used fairy wings, with lights integrated within the dresses. The big wingspan and the glowing feathers captivated the audience in attendance.
“What inspired me was the woodland creatures of the forest, something with a little more magical take on it,” she said. “I want something that would tell stories, other than just something you would see and then just walk past. I wanted something that will tell a life story.”
Thompson also said her finale dress was her favorite design. It was a big white dress, with small lights around the bottom part. The lights twinkle randomly, making the dress look alive and magical.
“I do like the finale dress, the end dress with the lights because that’s just elegant, and it gets very, very good atmosphere, an ambiance of the fairy kingdom,” she explained.
The students were not the only ones happy with their work that night. Heidi Gress, the senior fashion show producer and organizer, said she was very happy with what she saw that night.
“I think it went really well,” Gress said. “The students worked hard on the collections. … It seemed the energy was really great … It’s always fun to see what the students are going to come up with.”
Gress also explained how this fashion show was much different from 2017, from the clothing the designers made to the catwalk that was designed.
“The whole concept was different this year. We had a lot of nature theme running through the collection,” Gress said. “So, my production students decided to have something more garden feel and nature, where last year was very minimalistic so they went with like a clinical kind of feel. So, it’s a very, very different show, in general, the format and everything. And that’s all based on the student participation.”
Gress also expressed how she was proud of everyone that participated that night. A collection usually consists of 12 to 16 designs and must be finished in order to be showcased. A collection can take a whole year to assemble, which includes the designing and creating the theme of the runway.
Another element that the audience liked throughout the night was the Taiko Drummers. The music added to the nature and jungle theme and brought a little more pop to the event.
Visit The Fountain to view photos from the 2018 senior collections runway show.
