The 80’s City Girl Recreated From Thrift Stores

[showtime]

By Dannie Hawkins

The Guardsman

 

City College’s fashion department kicked off their annual student produced fashion shows with striking silhouettes, exciting trends and fresh colors for fall.

Students enrolled in Fashion 47: Fashion Coordination constructed the fashion show by gathering a theme, clothing, hair and makeup, music and models.

“They learn a lot”,  fashion instructor and department chair Diane Greene said. “This really prepares them for the fashion industry.”

Chairs sat in two long rows facing one another and formed a runway in the cafeteria as student models captured the attention of the room.

Energetic house remixes to modern classics such as Gaga and Kanye West set the mood and transformed the room and its patrons into a powerhouse.

The first show of the season, “City Slickers,” featured the looks of the most currently sought after girl in the city: the fashion blogger.

The show featured sequined tees and leather pleated skirts, classic pieces with an edgy twist. Sheer blouses and liquid leggings exuded effortless class.

The most pronounced color was black, embodying the power and prestige of the show’s theme, with pops of radiance such as red lips, gold dress details and sheer royal blue tops.

“She’s a city girl, an entrepreneur,” Farnaz Dadashi, fashion student and head show coordinator, said.  “She’s strong, sexy, classy. She lunches.”

Dadashi said the show took three weeks to coordinate. Along with her, Charlotte Mazey, Danielle Brown, Ashley Eller and Olga Zaytseva worked together to make their vision a reality. They pulled clothes from designer deals boutique My Roommate’s Closet as well as various Goodwills.

The models, many of them City College fashion students, walked the runways with confidence as they stepped atop three adjacent platforms and paused for observation and photos.

It was fun for Alexandria Benson to see her friends strut through the room in the looks she and her team created.

“We all came together,” she said. “I’m really thankful for this group.”

Benson was head coordinator of “Autumn Bliss,” the second show of the season.

Fall classics like plaid and navy came together with some of the most current trends in today’s fashion as male models whisked themselves around the room in animal printed bow ties, blazers and relaxed fit leather pants.

The girls donned Studded Jefferey Campbell Lita platforms with six-inch heels, daring lime green peplum tops and dramatic faux fur, and exemplified the art of hot looks in a cold season.

“It was a little nerve wracking”, said Jordan Dixon,who pulled all the clothing for the show from second hand stores like Buffalo Exchange. “But I’m so glad it happened.”

Having been a buyer for prominent designers, Greene enjoys seeing the students grow through all the hard work they put into producing their shows and they appreciate her just as much.

“We’re getting a great experience,” Benson said. “It’s all thanks to Diane.”

There are four more shows scheduled for this fall. They will be all be held at the Ocean campus cafeteria through the end of November on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 p.m.-12:30 p.m.