Framing the fashionistas

Wherein our intrepid, if impaired, chronicler samples the couture

By Liz Jaros

Wednesday Journal, Inc. Contributor

The sewing machine and I are not without history. I watched my sister use one to make tube tops from dishtowels in the '70s. I learned to operate one in a circa-1984 home economics class (where I made some totally awesome, semi-functional leg-warmers). And although I found it an odd gift choice in an era when most of my friends were receiving Atari game systems and personal computers, I still have the Singer 4190 tabletop model my parents gave me for graduating high school. I've even been moved to hem a kitchen curtain or two on that sucker when duty has called throughout the years.

But a fashionista, I am not. As far as clothing goes, if you can't snag it off the rack at Old Navy or happen upon it at the end of the toilet paper aisle in Target, it probably hasn't made its way into my closet. So when my editor needed someone to cover Dominican University's annual student fashion show on Saturday, April 14, I saw the assignment as a golden opportunity and took the job. Here was my chance to get a clue about current clothing trends, maybe plot an overhaul of my personal style. And who knew? Talking tucks and pleats with some of tomorrow's most promising design talent might even motivate me to get serious on that old Singer and whip up some trend-setting duds of my own.

Picture perfect parade
As I waited for the show to begin, I felt a charge of excitement. It may have been the blasting techno-music or the "Framed" fashion-as-art set design. It may have been the photographers testing their flash levels and jockeying for position at the end of the runway, or the show's stars milling about in the Lund Auditorium to touch base with friends, family members and fashion fans as they filled up a good chunk of the 1,200-seat venue.

I sat there enjoying the buzz and when the lights dimmed, I had my pad and pencil ready should I feel the urge to sketch out some ideas to try at home. But even as the first in a series of poised and perfectly draped models made her way down the ramp in the "Art of Manipulating Fabric" category, I was already having doubts.

While watching a steady stream of fashion firsts that could have been torn directly from the pages of Vogue magazine, I quickly realized that the level of sophistication and talent here were far beyond my expectations (and the individual garments far beyond anything I could have imitated without landing myself in the emergency room with sewn-together fingers and/or a nervous breakdown). This was the work of professionals in training, not amateurs or hobbyists. Clearly, I was out of my league.

So I began to concentrate instead on determining which garments would lend themselves well to the task of reinvigorating my wardrobe. I could definitely make a statement by wearing Crystal Gant's hot pink garden dress to serve fun lunch at my son's school (I think the matching hat would do nicely to conceal my hairnet). And surely I could turn some heads at the park wearing Caroline Borucki's Bristle Ball dress-a tan and black number presented in the "Confusion" category, due to the source of her inspiration for the design: a hedgehog. But I could probably make the biggest impact by wearing something from senior Julie Binggeli's "Heart of a Champion" collection out to dinner with my husband. The knee-length track jacket dress constructed entirely out of baseball mitts and basketball hoops would surely aid my effort to secure his undivided attention for the evening.

Zipping up a tight program
To my surprise, the premier presentation of the show (encores were to be offered on Saturday evening and again on Sunday afternoon) clipped along without a hitch-at least that's how it appeared from my vantage point in the audience. Earlier, I'd learned from Tracy Jennings, associate professor of fashion at Dominican and the department's chair, that the event had been coordinated entirely by fashion majors. And that was no small undertaking considering more than 100 original designs would have to be paraded out on 28 different models in eight different categories.

"The students handle everything, from set design to advertising to model dressing," Jennings said. Even the freshmen contribute original designs to the program. "It's stressful because there's a lot to get done, but they're also learning a lot."

Leadership, teamwork and deadline management are critical to achieving success in the world of fashion design, she'd said. With Dominican offering B.A. degrees in both apparel design and apparel merchandising, and the popularity of the program growing significantly in recent years, the fashion show has come to serve as a culmination of the education students have received in these fields. It's an especially big deal for graduating seniors.

Abby Zupancic, who's nearing the end of her final year in the program with a double major in design and merchandising and a minor in business administration, told me she'd been working on the big event every day for the past three months. In addition to chairing the show's program design committee and producing garments to be featured in both the general and senior collection categories, Zupancic also acts as vice president of Dominican's Fashion Club, works in the admissions office and holds down an internship with a fashion production agency.

"I'm sewing while I'm typing and trying to eat and sleep at the same time," she said. "It is a lot."

Senior Sarah Riley -a St. Louis area native whose decision to attend Dominican University was based on the solid reputation of its fashion program- told me that although this has been by far the most difficult year, she was very excited about presenting her final collection. Entitled "California Dreamin'" and inspired by a Red Hot Chili Peppers song, the three-piece set enlists breezy fabrics like chiffon and silk crepe to achieve what she called a "free-spirited, 1960s effect." I watched for it toward the end of the show and was completely blown away by the effort she must have invested in the project.

Combining silk and crochet in homage to her grandmother, who'd passed away recently, Lauren Bander's eveningwear set also made a lasting impression on me. "It's been crazy, but the whole experience has been rewarding," she said. "Ultimately, I'd like to go to Paris and become a couture designer with my own line. We'll see."

So when do you play Frisbee in the quad? When do you watch TV? These were the things I wanted to know as I thought back to the final days of my own senior year in college, when finding someone who'd let me copy a semester's worth of Earth Science notes was the sort of task to which I'd devoted a given day's energy.

Admittedly junkies for fashion-focused TV series like Project Runway and America's Next Top Model, Zupancic says she and her fellow seniors haven't had much time for the tube this school year but plan to catch up with the programs on DVD after graduation. As far as free time goes, Zupancic and several others are committed to a study abroad program in Paris this summer, so Frisbee's probably not a top priority for them right now either.

Fashion forward
Though I was resigned to letting my sleeping Singer lie after viewing an hour and a half's worth of actual sewing talent, I did walk away from the experience with a heightened appreciation for contemporary fashion and a greater understanding of this cutting-edge industry. Many of these designers will go on to do great things, and I felt honored to have met some of them on their way up. I will look for their names in the fashion magazines of the future and be able to say I knew them when.

Taking some time between stitches for a community-building project, students from Dominican University's Apparel Design and Apparel Merchandising programs worked with administrators from Grace House -an extension of St. Leonard's Ministries in Chicago providing transitional services to formerly incarcerated women -to develop and execute a series of fashion-related workshops for the center's residents earlier this year.

"We liked how Grace House takes a look at the whole person," Tracy Jennings, associate professor of fashion at Dominican said of the department's decision to pursue the relationship. "And there's a lot to be said about how body image and presentation affect self-confidence."

Focusing on issues related to dressing for body type, nutrition, wardrobe building, hair/makeup and job interview success, the sessions led to a nice bond between students and the center's residents, according to Bernadine Dowdell, program director at Grace House. "Here were two different groups of women really encouraging each other and learning from each other," she recalled. "They talked about how to dress on a shoestring, where to shop. It was all very professional but fun too."

Senior Abby Zupancic said her favorite part of the series was a skit titled, "How Not to Dress," in which she and fellow students pretended to dress and act inappropriately at a job interview. "We all had a good time with it," she recalled. "Nobody was holding anything back. The whole experience was amazing."

To thank the women of Grace House for the experience, Dominican's fashion students invited them to be special guests at the first presentation of their show and a dinner reception immediately following. Dowdell and Jennings both said they hoped the relationship between these two organizations is one that will continue in the future.