May 22, 2017

Romanticism, mythological creatures, the Taj Mahal, and engineered infrastructure were the inspiration for some of our student designers whose collections will be featured in Fashion '17, Drexel University ’ s Annual Fashion Show, on Saturday, June 10 at the Urban Outfitters Corporate Headquarters in Philadelphia's Navy Yard (5000 South Broad St., Building 543). The first show will be held at 4PM with a ticket price of $30. The second show will be held at 8PM and will be followed by a wine and cheese reception with a ticket price of $60. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here. 

Fashion ’17 is Drexel’s largest show yet, with 28 senior and graduate designers premiering their collections on June 10 after spending many months bringing their ideas and inspirations to life. Each year Design & Merchandising seniors are working hard behind the scenes to produce and direct the show. Students coordinate public relations and marketing, the selection of models and garments, ticket sales and all the details of this major event.  Music Industry students arrange the music and Graphic Design students assist with the visuals. Some Drexel students also model in the show alongside professionals from Wilhelmina Model Management Agency and Reinhard Modeling Agencies.

Collections featured in Fashion '17 include womenswear, menswear, children’s, tailoring, sportswear, lingerie, evening, swimwear and bridal. Awards will be granted in categories such as best in show, most creative and saleable, and excellence in illustration. Fashion ’17’s judges include representatives from Neiman Marcus, Gentle Monster, Nicole Miller, Frank Agostino, and Joan Shepp.

“Our Fashion Design students have developed an intuitive and practical understanding of design while studying the psychological, social and historical context of fashion,” said Lisa Hayes, Program Director of the Fashion program. “Their education is evident in this year’s show as the students work towards collections that fuse art, design, science, and technology.”

The senior collection of Olivia Ballard dives into the agony that monarch’s experience, torn between title and humanity. Her wearable art takes inspiration from mythological creatures such as sirens and sphinxes. They are like “characters from a movie yet to be written,” she said. 

The Taj Mahal and its “immeasurable beauty and incredible architecture” lies as the inspiration for Mital Dhudasia’s senior collection. Dhudasia said that through “structured silhouettes, engineered embroidery, and intricate hand beading,” she can capture the Taj’s magnificence.

Jessica Jade Dwyer was driven to create a couture bridal collection for the vintage bride. According to Dwyer, her senior collection will “revive the romanticism of the Victorian Era with the wildness of the ‘70’s free spirit.”

Growing up near engineering factories and industrial infrastructures, ShunWen Hsueh created her graduate collection to combine “what she has and who she is with fashion.” She interprets her collection as a mix between “the power of heavy industry and modern design into a high-end ready to wear collection.” 

The senior collection of Brittney Laycock found inspiration within the color and texture of glaciers. By blending the use of hand-dyed fabrics and draping them with chunkier fabrics, Laycock found the perfect juxtaposition of hard and soft.  She says her knits “were inspired by the snow on the tops of glaciers”.

Anna Sajeski designed her senior collection using a knitting machine to “develop knit structures that emulate coral textures and utilize rib detailing. According to Sajeski, her collection is meant to “spark an appreciation for Earth’s beautiful underwater ecosystems.” 

With nods to designers like Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, Alexa Buonpastore’s senior collection merges punk street wear and elegant eveningwear. “The collection is completed with laser-cut leather ‘feather’ accessories exuding a modern eccentric gothic style,” she said.