Fashion Design students from Rowan College at Burlington County (RCBC) showed off pieces they worked on during the semester at a Cherry Hill Mall show on May 12.
“For the past number of years, they’ve done this show at the college, so this is really just a really great way where they can have the public as a venue and showcase their talents,” said Lisa Wolstromer, senior marketing director for the mall.
There were about 30 designers in three classes who participated in the show, including the Fashion Collection Class, the highest level class and one that worked more independently on a four-piece collection; the Pattern Development Class, with its three-piece collection; and an Apparel and Construction Class where students learn to sew and experiment with simpler forms of garment making.
“It was so exciting (the night before the show), when all the pieces were pressed and steamed and I got to see it,” said Lisa Steinberg, program coordinator for Fashion Design and Fashion Media Merchandising at Rowan. “I get teary- eyed, because it’s more beautiful than I even imagined it to be.
“They were literally just designs that were on paper that just come to life.”
Students began work on the show at the beginning of the winter semester and completed their pieces in May. The mall event featured a wide range of pieces, from elegant dresses for evening wear to more creative pieces with both futuristic and modern looks. The designers also worked with models to ensure the pieces were wearable.
Cherry Hill resident and fashion design student Danielle Allen took Pattern Development this semester and based her three-piece collection, Collegiate Class, on the preppy look of characters from TV shows like Gossip Girl and Sex and the City.
“I’m originally from New York, and those were some of my favorite shows because I loved seeing the New York scenery,” Allen explained. “The main characters mainly wear a lot of school outfits, like ties, collars, plaid, skirts and dresses and things like that. It’s just very high-fashion, elite type of wear.”
Allen’s collection featured a dress with a collar, a corset-piece paired with flared pants, a skort and a shirt.
Victoria Schade, a sophomore fashion design major from Berlin, called her collection Eco Brutalism.
“I’ve always found the idea of decay very beautiful and interesting, so when our teacher gave us a few weeks to figure out our idea and look for inspiration, the idea of decay just kept coming back to me, and I kind of just decided that’s what I wanted to base my collection off of,” Schade noted.
Her pieces included a dress with ripped fabrics and materials made to look like it was decomposing, a bando top with low-waisted linen pants that had brown paint dye splattered on the bottom to make it look dirty, and a patchwork design.
Moorestown resident and faculty member of RCBC Lia Kwon also participated in the show through the Fashion Collection class.
“My favorite part is fittings with models,” Kwon said. “Live models make garments shine and make everything real and always elevate garments to the next level. My challenges were making sure the garments fit right on real human body.”
“People never realize how much work fashion designers go through,” Steinberg observed. “It’s a very misunderstood field. It’s not just sewing, but it’s so much about being an artist and creative and conceptual. And then styling – should it be an inch higher, an inch lower, where the buttons should go – all these lovely details.”
