The Salt Lake Community College Fashion Institute put on the 11th annual Project Catwalk Design Contest on Friday at the Library Square Campus.
The design contest featured finalists from the SLCC fashion program and high school students from all over northern Utah. The event started at 3 p.m. with campus tours, design workshops and guest speakers from the fashion industry, and concluded with the runway show and awards ceremony at 8:30 p.m.
The theme for this year’s design contest focused on travel. Finalists drew inspiration from countries all over the world for their designs, with the result being a conglomeration of cultural and stylistic influences that served to inspire participants and those in attendance.
“What inspired my piece was Spanish culture. I’ve always loved the music and the way fashion and the music interact with each other,” says second place winner from the college category, Amy Nielson.
Nielson says the contest was stressful for her because she was pushing for time.
“I am already taking 15 credits this semester, so putting together a piece on top of all of that was a bit much, but the show made it all worth it,” she says. “Seeing my piece on the runway was such a cool feeling and made me feel a sense of accomplishment.”
Nielson also describes the challenges she faced in designing the piece itself, as she had only taken beginning sewing class and kilt making prior to studying fashion at SLCC.
“I grew up with my mom sewing a lot, but I never officially learned until the beginning of the last summer semester taking those two classes,” she says.
While Nielson’s favorite part of the event was seeing her piece walked down the runway, she also modeled three different looks for other designers.
Visit the SLCC Fashion Institute to learn more about the program.
