USC Fashion Industry Association’s 7th Annual Fashion Show: Part 2

After the intermission it was time for the show to continue. The first presentation of the second half was by Kathleen Coltman, who is also co-president of FIA. This was Kathleen’s third year – she presented a jewelry line in 2009 and lingerie in 2010. Kathleen further displayed her talents by showing a bridal collection that veered from the norm. The gowns featured embellishments such a burlap and black tulle.





Parker is a New York based company known for their “great tops”. The design duo of Laurieanne Gilner and Derek Farrar have since expanded to include pants, jumpsuits, shorts, dresses, rompers, and tuxedo blazers. The casual collection incorporated vintage inspired prints into modern designs.





The philosophy behind Moods of Norway’s design team—Simen Staalnacke, Peder Børresen, and Stefan Dahlkvist—is to make happy clothes for happy people around the world. Their bright collection featured a number of uniquely colored suits and blazers that were meant to make a statement.





Chinese native and current USC student Julie Z.L. named her line after her initials – Zee-Elle. Her contemporary womenswear collection was inspired by the geometric forms of vintage toys and Picasso’s “Girl with a Boat (Maya Picasso)” painting. You could definitely see the inspiration reflected in the clothing.





Formative’s collection was a collaboration by three USC architecture students – Ali Chen, Elaine Kwong, and Anita Wong. Naturally, their clothing explored the boundaries between the design disciplines of fashion and architecture. In fact, a number of fashion designers are inspired by architectural designs. The collection was based in white and beige and models wore surgical type masks as they walked down the runway.





Bloomingdales ended the show with a presentation from their in-house line, Aqua. Mainly geared towards juniors the collection featured miniskirts, skinny jeans, rompers, cocktail dresses, and office attire.



When the show was over FIA’s co-presidents Kathleen Coltman and Lilli Izumi invited everyone to the after party. Kathleen was wearing a dress from Rent The Runway – a site where you can rent designer dresses for 90% off retail prices. (You gotta love that!) The party gave fashion lovers an opportunity to converse with the designers while dancing to hot tunes provided by DJ’s Josh and Zach Shlenker, aka Trackstars.



Narrative by Nikki Neil, Photos by J.