High-fashion high school
Students strut their stuff at Art Center’s Saturday High Program
By Erin Loomis 01/07/2010
Deep in the belly of the Art Center College of Design’s South Campus Building in downtown Pasadena, flashbulbs popped, lights blazed and music thumped. There was even a deejay, complete with fashionably aloof demeanor and single-ear headphones. Models worked their way down the walkway, stomping in insanely high heels and yards of glittering fabric, pausing at the end of the ramp to vamp and peer out fiercely from under large tousled hairdos.
It was hip, it was professional, it was a showcase for ... high school kids?
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Art Center’s Saturday High Program fashion show, featuring 25 young designers from three Saturday High classes (mostly the recent fall class) who created 48 pieces that were strutted, sulked and stomped down the runway. The show was a bit like a final exam or cumulative project for these students, many of whom didn’t even know how to sew when they started.
Led by Yelen Aye, a graphic designer and 2003 Art Center graduate, these students spent many hours every Saturday learning how to design, conceptualize and ultimately create their final piece for the show. They spent time learning theory, working with a seamstress and were subjected to projects and deadlines designed to prepare them for a future in the fashion industry.
Yelen, who initially studied art but later found a passion for fashion, gave the students a lot of creative freedom. They were instructed to come up with a fall line and required to create at least one piece — a guideline that many of the students exceeded. Some of the students had previously participated in the program but returned to further hone their budding design skills, which was great fun for Yelen, who enjoys seeing growth and improvement in his pupils.
The night of the show (so popular that organizers had to put on three back-to-back performances in one evening) designers were buzzing with excitement.
Inside, the audience was full of beaming parents, excited friends and squirming siblings, as well as fashion industry folk and Art Center faculty. One particularly proud papa had brought in family members from all over the state.
“It’s not exactly the whole family here, but it’s very close to it,” he said while pointing out various aunts, uncles, siblings, family friends and grandparents, many of them clutching bouquets of flowers and cards of congratulation.
Yelen stepped up to the microphone, beaming like a new parent, and announced the show was going to begin shortly. Once it all began, the runway was full of color and whimsy. There were lots and lots of cocktail dresses and evening gowns, a number of which were nods to couture — jutting, angular and embellished.
A few of these ensembles were more than slightly risqué, with plunging or nonexistent back lines or sky-high hems.
There were some more conservative but nevertheless lovely business outfits, something Jackie O might have considered were she in attendance. One piece looked a little like a space suit, the next was more suited for a modern-day Marie Antoinette. Another designer had the model dressed like a cello, complete with headpiece and bow — as opposed to bows on the headpiece of the next model in line.
Overall, it was a delightful experience, filled with great energy and lots of fun fashion attitude. These kids were not only dedicated, but very creative. The only thing that even began to give them away as high school kids was the beautiful but ill-fitting footwear that had been procured for their adorably angsty young models.
I left with a big smile on my face and would recommend next year’s show to anybody who likes fashion and has an extra 10 bucks in their pocket for the ticket.
For more information on the Art Center’s Saturday High Program, check out artcenter.edu/sat.
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