The Fashion Institute at Salt Lake Community College held their annual fashion show on Saturday at the South City campus, in which 10 students presented their collection of clothing designs from the semester.
Attendees spilled out of the multipurpose room onto the outdoor patio, with the show drawing nearly 500 people. Veronica Clark, a first-year fashion student who was on the fashion show production team, said everything went smoothly. She added that the technical and visual talents of the students, coupled with the efforts of 30 volunteers, led to success.
“They collaborated to bring the event together,” Clark said.
Before students presented their collections, Fashion Institute Program Manager Mojdeh Sakaki thanked everyone who helped put the show together. She expressed pride at witnessing the dedication of students, staff, faculty and volunteers as they worked throughout the academic year to prepare for the final show.
Student Matthew Quinlan said it was exciting to display the clothes he designed. Quinlan is starting an internship next month after graduation and would like to create his own brand someday.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at SLCC,” said Quinlan, who emphasized his degree in technical apparel. “I didn’t know anything about sewing, but now I’m enabled with [the] tools to go on and create my own brand. I loved the faculty, and I would like to give them a big shout-out.”
The fashion show also saw an announcement from one of the fashion show’s producers, Kim Kienow.
Kienow revealed that SLCC and Utah State University have established a new agreement enabling SLCC students who obtain a fashion degree to transfer and enroll in USU’s Outdoor Product Design and Development program.
“When you start looking at the fashion and design industry, there are so many connections and overlaps,” Amber Williams, professional practice assistant professor for USU’s OPDD program, said in a press release. “We should absolutely be working together. It just makes sense.”
According to the release, prior to this transfer agreement, SLCC fashion students had to look outside the state to continue their education. They would also lose the hard work they put into their degrees, as most fashion schools do not accept credits earned at other institutions.
“We’re providing opportunities for students who, at the beginning of their academic career, might not have thought that a four-year degree was possible,” Williams continued in the press release. “And now we have a pathway that makes that possible for them.”
The first students to take advantage of this new agreement will graduate from SLCC this spring and join USU this fall.
