The Triangle

Issue date: 5/30/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Media Credit: Karl Kuchs

I don't watch much television. Actually, I don't even own a television in my apartment, but I can say that I am a huge fanatic of Bravo's "Project Runway." The intensity and creativity factors really draw me into the program. I have the utmost respect for the contestants I see on my pixilated screen and even more for the student designers I witnessed firsthand at Drexel's Annual Fashion Show.

I walked into the Crystal Tea Room on the ninth floor of the Wanamaker Building in Center City and my mouth almost dropped. I am not sure what exactly I was expecting, but the setup was much more grandiose than I imagined. The room was filled with 800 seats. A square, black catwalk centered the space with a chandelier above. A wall of contemporary backlights flickered multiple colors as everyone was taking their seats. The crowd was dressed to impress.



The beginning portion of the fashion show came primarily from first-year graduate students as well as pieces from undergraduate sophomores and juniors. Ranging from sportswear to swimwear, the earlier segment of the show provided much entertainment by the children's wear models who danced their way across the stage, throwing big smiles and hand signs into the crowd. The graduate senior students wowed viewers with the "Art of Fashion" selection of works. Jaeyoon Jeong's overcoat with target top and zipper pants provided an extremely innovative way of recycling materials to use for clothing: the main material came from a sleeping bag!

Next came the senior collections. A total of 35 designers (30 undergraduate and five graduate) presented their best works to the sold-out crowd of 800 attendees. The music pounded hard as Caitlin McDonald's young models took the stage to show off her German-inspired children's wear. Like earlier, the youngsters danced their way around the catwalk making the audience laugh at their playfulness.

Karen Peress' collection, which incorporated tinted vinyl into every outfit, made a bright showing with the use of fluorescent colors and sunglasses. The clear, plastic corset top stood out as her best piece in the collection, yet her bathing suit and raincoat duo came in a close second.

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