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THE FASHION ISSUE

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‘Decontructed Hits NoHo’An overview of this years fashion show

Best Collection:Jose Ramirez and Kenneth Roman

Most Marketable Collection:Falavia Otis

Faculty Favorite Collection:Masai Payan

Most Creative CollectionOkezikam Ebigo

Contributors

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This year’s fashion show was featured at the top level of the parking facility over-looking all of North Hollywood. The annual Art Institute fashion show allows advanced fashion design students to debut their collections based on

a faculty-chosen theme. The event, entitled “Red Carpet Deconstructed,” was hosted on June 12.

The runway was set in the middle as six rows of white chairs ran along each side. A red carpet also led the way to both an exclusive VIP tent and the runway. The tent had a bar and hors d’oeuvres with outdoor seating. The runway was lit from above and the seats were covered in white linens that lightly billowed with the subtle breeze. On either side, flat screens were placed, showing interviews with each designer before their collection was displayed.

Adam Lenehan, a producer of the show, broke the ice with a strut down the runway. As music played he struck a fierce pose for the photographers, and instantly grabbed the audience’s attention. Roger Gomez followed Lenehan, welcoming the guests, and then Managing Producer Aleta Campbell, who described the event and and introduced the judging panel. They were all industry professionals, including boutique owners and former Art Institute students that are now working in the fashion industry, and played a large part in the event.

“I was incredibly happy with the way that [it] turned out. I think it was elegant and fun, exactly what we wanted. Many months and long hours of planning and coordinating definitely paid off,” said Adam Lenehan. “Aleta and I work incredibly well together. We have a great synergy; we got to the point where I would be finishing her sentences! Plus, how often do I get to work the runway?”

The show ran about an hour and a half, displaying the work of eighteen designers, showing their collections as well as the Passion for Fashion scholarship show and Costume Specialties Class providing incredibly complex garments. Passion f or Fashion is a nationwide scholarship competition for high school seniors, allowing them to enter a garment they have personally designed and created in hopes of winning the grand prize of full tuition to an Art Institute of their choosing.

Set design was done by the Scene Painting Techniques class and catering by the Culinary students. The models’ makeup was by Napolean Perdis and hair by the Paul Mitchell School from Sherman Oaks. Both afternoon and evening shows were quite a success. The matinee showing had a turnout of about three hundred people and the

evening event was completely sold out, with more than four hundred guests in attendance.

Judging for the advanced design students’ collections was of particular importance as all the designers worked extremely hard in hopes of winning one of four categories: Best Collection, Most Marketable Collection, Most Creative Collection and Teacher’s Favorite. Requirements for being an advanced designer in the main show included having successfully completed Technical Drawing, Draping, Applied Construction, and Pattern Details. The designers must also be good students and were required to meet for mandatory meetings, pattern

‘DEcONSTrUcTED’ HITS NOHO

Story | Tiffany KantorPhotos | Neeyaz Zolfaghari & Baokhanh Hoang

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completions, fittings etc. They were required to have a minimum of three garments, and maximum of seven, that conveyed the show’s theme and were consistent with each other.

Jose Ramirez and Kenneth Roman won Best Collection with their risk-taking and futuristically feminine designs. Falavia Otis won Most Marketable Collection with her military inspired, yet modern, garments. Okezikam Ebigbo won Most Creative Collection, incorporating actual shoes into a gladiator styled collection. Lastly, Masai Payan won Faculty Favorite, pushing the envelope and mixing masculine and feminine looks. First three winners won a

gift bag with $100 gift certificate to a downtown Fashion Book Store and a trophy. The winners for Best Collection and Faculty Favorite both won their own dress form.

Many mentors of the Fashion Design faculty helped to make the designers’ collections a success in the fashion show. The faculty involved included: Alina Parson, Shideh Shirdel, Sofi Khachmanyan, Koffa Toeque, Kelsea Neal, Cesar Hurtado and Kristina Krpekyan. Sarah Holmes, Katrin Costa, Doranne Jung, and Miranda Traczyk were also among the faculty members who willingly donated their free time to help with the show.

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Lady Gaga herself would surely be proud to wear the collection created by the dynamic duo, Jose Ramirez and Kenneth Roman. They admit, “We are both tremendously obsessed with Lady Gaga,” who served as inspiration

for their work. Their collection was also inspired by the 1960’s “space age” era and designers like Paco Rabanne, Nicolas Ghesquire and Alexander McQueen.

Ramirez and Roman’s collection is an achromatic presentation of structured and tailored garments that are definitely not for the body conscious. They designed their collection with the absence of a woman’s sexuality in mind. “We wanted to play around with the idea of non-existent sexuality.” Although they were both aware of the body when designing the collection, their main principle was appearance rather than functionality. Their garments were meant to “serve absolutely no purpose, and, in fact,

constrict the women wearing them”. Constructing the whole collection took “about 6 long,

difficult and stressful months, but it was all worth it”. Both designers were shocked to walk away with the “Best Collection” award and said, “All of the designers in the show are so talented and created such beautiful collections. Winning Best Collection never crossed our minds”.

Ramirez and Roman never viewed the “Deconstructed” fashion show as a competition. Instead, they decided to take this opportunity as a learning experience and a way to present their very first collection in their first fashion show ever. They initially thought that most people would not understand their designs and “think everything looked crazy”, but the collection ended up being quite an accomplishment for the two.

Ramirez and Roman said that throughout the six months of constructing their whole collection they faced too many complications to count, and each garment was an experiment. They stayed positive during the process, saying that they both “learned so much by doing it, things that normal classes couldn’t teach”. In response to the outcome of the fashion show they said, “There’s no better feeling than to create something that started with just a thought. It’s wonderful. The result was better than I think both of us had expected.”

Through the process, Jose Ramirez and Kenneth Roman have proven they work very well together as a design team. Kenneth says, “I didn’t really start thinking outside the box until I met Jose,” to which Jose responds, “to me, we’re a perfect match. Working together, I feel, makes us better designers”. They both share very similar design aesthetics and the differences they do encounter

compliment each other’s styles so well. Although Ramirez and Roman share similar taste, style and ideas, they are pursuing fashion for different reasons. Roman expresses, “I’m in fashion because I think I’m good at it. Designing is so much fun, but intimidating at the same time. I wouldn’t change my career choice for anything else.” Ramirez feels that he is in fashion more to create works of art. “I have so many artistic visions in my head and I feel clothing is the best way to express them. I see the human body as a canvas, and clothing as paint.”

In the end, Ramirez and Roman both aspire to become well known Los Angeles based designers and prominent artists, waking up every morning enjoying what they do, “and doing it together”. When imagining the future, Roman states “Whatever does happen, I know Jose and I will have some influence on what fashion is today.”

JOSE rAmIrEz & KENNETH rOmAN

“Clothing should be different and out there. Not every woman wants to wear

an evening gown.”

Story | Stephanie MontesPhoto | Baokhanh Hoang

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Having her line chosen as the Most Marketable collection was an unexpected, but welcome, surprise for Falavia Otis. She feels both honored and humbled to know that her vision has been understood and appreciated by those

attending this year’s fashion show.The basic idea behind her collection was to combine a

military theme with a feminine twist. Her inspiration came largely from her family, with her mother having served in the Army, her father in the Navy and her brother currently enlisted in the Air Force. Over the years, her mother has been her biggest cheerleader, and both she and her brother have not missed a single one of Falavia’s shows.

“I worked really hard to design and construct pieces that each told a specific chapter in the book of Falavia Perception Military (FPM). Together the chapters tell the precise story that I want the world to hear … I am so tired of people saying that they want to make clothes that make a woman feel comfortable! We already know how to make women feel comfortable. I want to make women feel empowered.”

She started designing her collection last November and began construction in December, taking a total of eight months to finish the eight final designs. A wide variety of grays, navy blues and blacks, were used to accentuate the waist, as well as the incorporation of double-breasted brass-like buttons and detailed biker-style pants. A tulip silhouette, shoulder details and a killer body suit are also key features in the line.

“When I was a young girl I was

chubby, and there [weren’t many] stylish clothes available for me because of my size. That basically birthed my infatuation with [fashion]. I became obsessed because I couldn’t dress like the other girls. That’s when I started designing,” says Otis.

Four years ago, Otis almost had her dreams of designing cut short when she discovered something was very wrong with her left arm and was forced to endure major surgery. “I had a large tumor that was removed, but last year the tumor came back in two different places on the same arm. I could have lost my arm, and my will to design, but instead I’m taking a positive and a more thankful road. I am left with a dented arm and two large scars that remind me everyday that nothing will ever crush my dreams.”

Though it may seem unusual, portraying a sense of “beauty” is not always necessarily her goal when designing. Indeed, what makes her design aesthetic so unique is her ability to portray a certain feeling through her garments. Having completed this collection and receiving the recognition she’s gotten from it, she feels ready to conquer anything.

She currently designs for a couple companies, and is still searching for her dream job. Seeing her military-themed collection as more of a learning experience, she chose not to create any plus-sized pieces. In the future, she hopes to eventually try her hand at designing plus-size clothing for women, and a line of men’s clothing as well. “I just feel so blessed that God gave me this talent and I will not stop until I make it!”

“Military with a modern edge”

Falavia OtisStory | Tiffany Kantor

Photo | Baokhanh Hoang

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Story | Casey SunichPhoto | Baokhanh Hoang

masai Payan

Teachers Favorite was among the awards given at this years Fashion Show, and Masai Payan was the lucky recipient. The collection was designed for a woman who is open to fashion and not afraid

to try something new. Those who have a strong voice and passion for what they do.

Payan is an ambitious dreamer whose love for fashion design has become like an OCD. He was inspired by the trans-gendered identity movement to promote acceptance within society and the positive, driven and courageous spirit of this community. The decision to tackle such a controversial subject presented the challenge of creating a design aesthetic that focused on disguising the male anatomy while accentuating the female figure in a fashion-forward way.

Construction of the pieces in his line took over 6 months, but in the end both he and his client were very happy with the results. Having known Payan personally, I was not surprised when he was announced as the Teachers Favorite. He admits that the recognition by his mentors was quite an honor. They were the ones that gave him the tools to

be the designer he wanted to be. Payan has also always held a passion for theater. He

worked in the theater biz for six years, and misses it every day, but he’s always held an overwhelming fondness for

fashion design. He says, “it’s the only thing I was ever really good at, and illustrating always came naturally. Choosing [fashion] was the easiest decision.” He hopes to someday go back to theater as a hobby, but fashion is his life. It’s what he’s meant to do.

In his free time, Payan enjoys hanging out with his family, gathering around the table for barbeques, and spending time with friends to catch the newest movie or grabbing a bite to eat. His family has always been his ultimate source of inspiration, and although they always held the belief that you should “work now and enjoy life later,” he has found a way to combine this ideal with his own sensibilities to constantly push himself to be the best.

With a little over a year left at school, he has his sights firmly set on the future. He knows he has many things to learn, and can’t wait to see what opportunities lie ahead.

“Anyone can sew, few can design”

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Okezikana Ebigbo

Inspired by the past and people who “lived with little or no resources,” Okezikam Ebigo used their influ-ence to create his “Apocalyptic Soles” collection. It presents a stunning display of shoe scraps in leather, crocodile, snakeskin and other textures with shades

of black, brown, and occasional accents in red and white. His “everyday experiences of walking in men’s expensive leather dress shoes” also served as further inspiration.

Ebigo created a collection that perfectly encapsulates the “Deconstructed” theme of the show and worthy of the “Most Creative Collection” award. Every piece was created entirely by patch-working scraps of “deconstructed” shoes (including the leather, shoe laces and metals) to form a

flattering silhouette for each garment. Structured lines and lacing create the illusion of men’s dress shoes in each of the garments and formed modern neck and hemlines. He spent over six months on his collection, hoping that it would convey the mes-sage that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and he succeeded.

He admits, “Coming up with a col-lection was the easiest [part].” However, creating one-of-a-kind garments and a concept that might wow the judges was a challenge. By omitting all woven and knitted textiles, he took a risk and focused on even more creative materi-als. “The reason why I decided to use shoes this way, and not fabrics, is be-cause I wanted to experiment. I wanted to show the world the elegant side of shoes. I thought that people would always have the notion that shoes are only to be worn on the feet, not on the

contour of the body.” Winning the award was “the most blessed feeling in my

life” and he is very grateful to the people who supported him along the way. He considers his family to be his “big-gest blessing,” however, and with their support, he began designing at a young age. They motivated him to do his best in all that he aspired to do, and he was ready to make them proud. Because they are so close, he says his designs are most influenced by his siblings Ikenna, Ifeanyi, and Somto Ebigbo. It was ultimately his family and friends who convinced him to enter the competition because they could see the passion he had inside him.

He explored other fields of work in the past, but always

felt that fashion was the only career for him. He believes that fashion has always been his calling and views it as a way of life and feels immense passion when he creates unique and interesting de-signs. Through his work, he strives “to constantly push the limits of design,” likening himself to “a scientist who is always creating new inventions in a lab”.

Okezikam Ebigbo is in his third year and is one quarter from graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fash-ion Design. He admires designers such as Maison Martin Margiela, Karl Lager-feld, John Galliano, Elie Saab, Stella McCartney, Chanel, Alexander Mc-Queen, and Issey Miyake, and aspires to “one day be a Creative Director for Maison Martin Margiela, and eventu-ally own a couture house in Paris and Los Angeles”.

Story | Stephanie MontesPhoto | Baokhanh Hoang

“Designing brings freedom and happiness so I take chances by being

infinitely creative.”

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Ever since I was a little girl, I have been influenced and inspired by anything that my eyes set upon and found the least bit interesting. As the years went on, and I grew up into the person I am today, I have found more inspiration in things that I am in love and extremely influenced by. Europe in the 1930’s, Designers such as Coco Chanel, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld and Badgley Mischka. Photographers, such as Richard Avedon, Edward Steichen and Rodney Smith. My favorite city in Europe, Rome. Just to name a few of my inspirations. I am zeroing in and focusing on my personal aesthetic and as always, creating images that capture beauty in the simplest form.

At a very young age I began sketching and designing, which gave me such a sense of fulfillment, I knew I would end up in fashion. I later developed a passion for writing and reading magazines such as Vogue and Glamour. I admired the work that went into them and I aspired to be a journalist behind the articles and a designer showcased in these magazines. Years later, my childhood aspirations have not changed. I plan to intern for a high fashion magazine and I hope to one day work for Anna Wintour. I am also very determined to become the Creative Director and designer for my own ready-to-wear label and high fashion bridal house.

I owe all my accomplishments to my parents who support me and who have always been my biggest fans; my grandma from whom I believe I have inherited all my creativity and style; my boyfriend who encourages me to take risks and shows me that it’s okay to be myself; and my new friends that inspire me constantly.

I aspire to be a bridal and evening gown dress designer. I have worked in the fashion industry since I was thirteen, working a few years for Palm Springs Life Magazine as a stylist and production assistant as well as assisted photog-rapher, Michael Childers, worked PR for a fashion production company, helped produce El Paseo’s Fashion Weeks, worked many years for a fashion show producer and been involved with LA Fashion Weeks. I now currently intern for designer, Lloyd Klein, working towards being a part of his design team! I am originally from Washington State but for the past ten years I’ve lived in Rancho Mirage, CA. I come from a family with three sisters and two dogs. Shifting to North Hollywood, I transitioned from a crazy household, to a very busy work, school and social life and I enjoy every second of it. Writing is a passion of mine and I do my best to deliver the best fashion articles, but I am always open to our readers’ sug-gestions.

I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and am currently in my 9th quarter at school and am studying fashion design. I am originally from Puyallup, Washington, and have lived in beautiful Southern California for the past 4 years and I’m proud to call it my home. I have been involved with the LA Canvas team as a fashion reporter for the past 6 months and absolutely love it. I am aspiring to have my own line of women’s contemporary swimwear someday.

Neeyaz ZolfaghariPhotographer

Baokhanh HoangPhotographer

Stephanie MontesReporter

Tiffany KantorFashion Editor

Casey SunichFashion Editor

Photo By Max BeardPhoto By Max Beard

LA cANVAS cONTrIBUTOrS

Photo By Max Beard

I love image. I want to make people look good and people in the fashion industry always look good. I wanted to be a part of that world and that inspired me to seek a career in photography. The people that inspire me are the people that I’m surrounded by, and they’re not always photographers. Its friends and family. They know my passion and motivate me to work harder because they believe in me.

Special Thanks to the LA Canvas team for it’s creative direction.

- Dante Colombatti- Kevin Hidalgo

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