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    Preview: 2019 CCAD Fashion Show

    The Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) will once again host the annual CCAD Fashion Show and fundraiser on Friday, May 10, featuring designs and creations by 18 senior fashion design students.

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    All proceeds from the event will go toward student scholarships at CCAD.

    CCAD fashion design program chair Suzanne Cotton says designers this year have paid special attention to sustainability and continued an ongoing trend of targeting designs toward diverse markets.

    Wes Mills’ menswear/gender-neutral collection, called “Trench,” takes inspiration from turtles and tortoises for what he calls “street armor.” Featured model: Conor Heisler.
    Featured model David Woods wears pieces from Domoracki’s “Soft People” collection.

    “These students are really starting to open up their minds to new areas,” says Cotton. “Looking at all different markets and being really diverse. Not just looking at [womenswear], but maybe looking at plus size or transgender or disability.”

    Melissa Marchi’s collection, “Zest,” is fashioned from biodegradable and natural materials, including Ecuadorian corozo nuts as buttons. Featured model: Olivia Saunders.

    Designers for the 2019 CCAD Fashion Show include Alex Domoracki, Melissa Marchi, Wes Mills, Thuy Nguyen, Alanta Slone, and Kristen Wyant.

    Domoracki’s collection, “Soft People,” is inspired by their experience with gender-neutral clothing. A lot of times this clothing can be oversized and unflattering, so they created pieces that are both “fun and wearable.”

    Nguyen’s “Combo” streetwear collection takes discarded fabrics and materials and reuses them, as a statement on eco-friendly fashion that can remain timeless. Pieces include a puffer vest made with shipping air pillow film, and trousers partly constructed with leftover fabric that “expose the detail that goes into creating pieces.”

    She says it was “fun digging through the trash, trying to find the most interesting items to use.”

    Model Jiahao Peng wears a puffer vest made of recycled materials from designer Thuy Nguyen’s collection.

    Slone’s collection, “la nouvelle femme | the new woman,” includes pieces with bra hook and eyes and exposed wireframes. The collection aligns the recent trend of wearing lingerie as daywear, but does so intentionally as a comment on strength, and what is deemed acceptable for a woman to wear.

    Featured model Drea Kirby is wearing a dress from Slone’s “la nouvelle femme” collection.

    Cotton says there’s a real pride in craftsmanship with the senior fashion design students, which is exciting to see.

    “Obviously Kristen’s over-the-top costumes and just all the things she’s brought — she did her own prints and got it printed and did all these things herself — I think is really amazing,” she says. “I love Thuy, and she’s using plastic bags, which you think, ‘Oh God, that’s going to look like trash.’ But it’s done in such a way that it’s really pretty cool. And really well done. And really well made.”

    Wyant poses with model Jiaqi Yu. Wyant’s collection looks at femininity and women of influence from a variety of cultural perspectives.

    “They’re just perfect. The fit was just perfect, and that’s what I really love to see,” she says.

    Held May 10, the day before CCAD’s graduation ceremony, Cotton says the fashion show duels as a commencement celebration.

    “I’ve known these students for four years, so it’s bittersweet every year. But … I always look at it as a celebration of their work, and my work too,” she says.

    In addition to the designer’s collections, the fashion show will also feature footage from past CCAD shows as part of the school’s 140th anniversary celebration.

    For information on tickets or to read more about all of the designers featured in the 2019 CCAD Fashion Show, visit ccadfashionshow.com.

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    Taijuan Moorman
    Taijuan Moormanhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Taijuan Moorman is a former reporter and social media specialist for Columbus Underground and The Metropreneur who covered civics, arts, entertainment, lifestyle, and business news and features.
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