EUGENE, OR - Calvin Klein, step aside. Fashion design students at Lane Community College will claim the runway and the spotlight for their seventh annual fashion extravaganza, "Fashion Design Progression & Completion—Then & Now," on Saturday, June 22 from 6-8 p.m. at the at New Hope Christian College Rexius Event Center, 2155 Bailey Hill Road in Eugene.
Students' creations will be shown by 120 models including Lane President Mary Spilde, and community member Dalia Hamide, namesake of the recently opened Dalia on Broadway restaurant in Eugene.
Spilde will wear an outfit designed by Marika Pineda, who directs the library at Lane. She came to the program with fifth-grade sewing skills eager to learn design. She says the outfit will reflect "my experience of Mary as a vibrant, authentic and approachable person. Plus, she has a great sense of style."
Maha Khawaja, mother of Dalia Hamide, says, "It's a breath of fresh air to see women, in real sizes, at this fashion show. It is a reality that is good for kids to see!"
Classes in the six-level program range from sewing for beginners to portfolio development. Each level requires one term to complete.
"By the end of level 6, students can make any kind of garment just by looking at a picture," says fashion design program director Geno Gutierrez. Graduates qualify for jobs in the fashion design industry.
Gutierrez is a graduate of the Paris Academy in Mexico City. She developed the curriculum in 2004 and the program won state approval in 2005.
Classes are taught in Spanish and English. As many as 25 percent of the students are Latino. Gutierrez says students have hailed from Africa, El Salvador, the Philippines, France, Japan, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, Taiwan, and Ukraine. For many, the program is a pathway into college credit classes.
Modeling their creations started out as an in-class student project but it became a community event in 2006. All students participate and are responsible for finding models and designing and constructing outfits.
Gutierrez says community support is essential to the program. This year's show features a special "White Line" designed in honor of Bess Nobel, a local wedding gown designer who recently gave a collection of fabrics to the program.
The show is free but a $5 donation will be accepted at the door to help cover expenses. The venue seats about 400, first come, first seated.
For more information about the show, or to enroll in the Fashion Design program, call (541) 463-6100 or go online at http://www.lanecc.edu/ce/careertraining/fashion-design
Lane is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution. Visit online at www.lanecc.edu or www.twitter.com/lanenews or www.facebook.com/lanecommunitycollege
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