Pre-Selection 2011: Battles with Body Forms

This past week, the fashion design students showed the results of their blood sweat and tears at pre-selection, one of the first checkpoints in the fashion show production process, when the designers present their work including senior collections, swimwear, lingerie, evening wear, and childrens wear. The panel of judges then made their initial decisions on which collections and individual works are worthy of the show. For the designers, the days leading up to this are spent locked in the studio, tweaking and adjusting their work until it reaches something they feel can be put in front of the judges. The intimidation factor here is that of Project Runway or American idol, with judges from the Fashion Design faculty who are truly knowledgeable in what makes good design and quality, including Roberta Gruber, and Keith Newhouse. The day progressed and all the Design & Merchandising students got their work out in for the week as they helped the designers get garments on and off the body forms and drag the body forms from the hallway to the studio. We worked on keeping track of each garments, giving them numbers and taking photos, to make putting the show in order as seamless as possible.

A few designers in, it became clear that the talent being brought to this show is consistent and unique. Not many pieces were cut, as the judges remained impressed with each collection. I spent the whole day helping out with the process and while I ended the day with sore legs, due to my endless battle with body forms, I loved seeing every piece and being there to get a first look at each designer’s collection aesthetic. The foundation of our show started to come into clear focus. The designers showed off leather cut outs, structural architectural silhouettes, reptile prints reminiscent of Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 collection, lingerie with a punk edge underneath studded miniskirts, large fur collars atop thick succulent suede coats, whimsical childrens wear, distressed hand woven knits, renaissance inspired fabrics juxtaposed with leather corsets, and so much more. The thing that I was most amazed by was how unique each individual collection was. One would potentially expect some of these designers to unconsciously end up with similar visions since they spend so many of their working hours together, but that is not the case at all. I could really see each vision individually and their inspiration statements really resonated with the visual outcome. Here is a sneak peek at some of the staggering details that graced the designs:

Be sure to "Like" The 2011 Drexel Fashion Show facebook page, which has gone live this week, and stop by Nesbitt during the week from 12pm-2pm to purchase tickets or online at drexel.edu/westphal.