Student Fashion Shows: Drexel students focus on nature
Seniors and graduate students from the university's fashion department presented nature-inspired bohemian collections that can easily move from day to night.
Drexel closed this year's university fashion season with an homage to nature.
Saturday evening, seniors and graduate students of Drexel's fashion department presented end-of-year collections at Urban Outfitters' corporate offices in the Navy Yard.
[Click here for the Philadelphia University and Moore College of Art & Design's previous shows.]
Mostly bohemian in nature, the students' flowing pieces were both day- and night-appropriate, proving Drexel professors managed to teach designers fashion's most important merchandising lesson of all: versatility.
That said, the night's best collections included senior Brittney Laycock's chunky ivory knits paired with tapered leggings and dramatic coats soaked in oceanic blues. The effect: snow-capped glaciers. Laycock's collection won her the Neiman Marcus Best in Show Award.
Anna Sajeski paired ankle socks with sky-high, chunky-heeled shoes in lemon yellow. I was impressed with the styling. But I'm sure judges were more dazzled by this senior's use of a knitting machine to create midriff sweaters, miniskirts, and vests with ribbing that mimicked the grooves of coral reef. Pairing these sun-loving pieces with floral prints (I especially liked the wide-legged trouser) was an excellent look. Sajeski's creativity won her the Karen Andes Rosenberg Award for Excellence in Handcraft.
Finally, senior Lela Thompson took home the Frank Agostino Award for Excellence in Design, Construction and Workmanship for her deep-hued special-occasion pieces. Thompson was inspired by rough textures found in nature, like barnacles. This was the kind of coarseness, however, that one might want to keep.