The Eleven Collections at Otis College of Art and Design's 30th Annual Scholarship Benefit

The Otis College of Art and Design held their 30th Annual Scholarship Benefit and Fashion Show on Saturday, May 5th at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Each year, the junior and senior fashion design class create collections which are shown at the benefit. With over 70 models and close to 200 original designs, the runway show is the largest in Los Angeles. Each student design team works with a distinguished mentor who is currently working in the fashion industry and each mentor poses specific design problems for their student team to solve through their collections. The 2012 fashion mentors were Amanda Gnelding for Anthropologie, Michael Maccari for Armani Exchange, Rod Beattie for swimwear line Bleu, David Meister for his own label, Ame Austin Max for MaxStudio, Liliana Casabal for Morgane Le Fay, Scott Williams for Nike, Red Carter for his own swimwear label, Karen Stewart for Stewart & Brown, and Todd Oldham for his own label.

Starting off the runway show was swimwear designer Red Carter, a '92 Otis College alumnus. His team created swimwear and cover ups inspired by moroccan tiles and Tunisian spice markets. Many of the suits were one piece cut outs in bright multicolors with matching cover ups made out of recycled stripe fabrics.The second collection was Scott Williams for Nike who used the 2012 Olympic Games in London as inspiration.  His team of students designed uniforms for the upcoming 2012 USA Summer Olympics team. Models walked the runway to the tune of U2's Beautiful Day while showcasing uniforms for three sports: volleyball, track, and basketball.

Red Carter - Swimwear

Red Carter - Swimwear

Red Carter - Swimwear

Red Carter - Swimwear

Scott Williams for Nike - 2012 Olympic Games as inspiration

Scott Williams for Nike - 2012 Olympic Games as inspiration

Scott Williams for Nike - 2012 Olympic Games as inspiration

Scott Williams for Nike - 2012 Olympic Games as inspiration

The third collection was Amanda Gneiding for Anthropologie, who came out to LA from Anthropologie's offices in Philadelphia to be a mentor. Her student team's collection was based around separates representing 50's and 60's Palm Springs. This collection was a personal favorite as it was made up of very wearable, current designs perfect for a Los Angeles summer. Maxi dresses in bold patterns and adorable white and yellow mini dresses were interwoven with flowing tunics and pants; all of which created a fun collection with just the right hint of vintage flair. The Anthropologie  aesthetic was readily evident while also staying true to Palm Springs inspiration.

Amanda Gneiding - Anthropologie

Amanda Gneiding - Anthropologie

Amanda Gneiding for Anthropologie

Amanda Gneiding - Anthropologie

The fourth collection was swimwear designer Rod Beatie for Bleu, also an '86 Otis Alumnus. Inspired by flowers, Beatie's team constructed an elegant swimwear collection with each suit made out of a different solid, bright color including fuchsia purples, bright yellows and lime greens. Many suits featured intricate ruffles which seemed to take their influence from flower petals. The fifth collection was Karen Stewart for Stewart & Brown using the concept of seasonless dresses as a blank canvas for painting. A collection of dresses based in neutrals, each dress was beautifully draped and perfect as a base for constructing any outfit.

Rod Beatie - Bleu - swimwear

 

Rod Beatie - Bleu - swimwear

Rod Beatie - Bleu - swimwear

Rod Beatie - Bleu - swimwear

Karen Stewart - Stewart & Brown

Karen Stewart - Stewart & Brown

Karen Stewart - Stewart & Brown

Karen Stewart - Stewart & Brown

The sixth collection was Todd Oldham whose team took an eco fashion approach and constructed sportswear using found objects and recycled garmets. The future of eco fashion is an important concept within the fashion design department at Otis. As Rosemary Brantley, chair of Otis' fashion design program and founder of the mentoring program believes, "Let's start thinking about clothes that will outlive the consumer. We need to focus on new ways the garmet industry will be in the future. We need people to start investing in clothing instead of throwing them away in a landfill ...we can always count on Todd to get into some recycling thinking." An incredibly bold and strong collection, Oldham's team put together not only sportswear for women but also for men and children. A particular favorite was the final look in this collection; a teal, quilted mini skirt paired with a sheer beaded top and a long, fringed sweater coat all of which managed to be dramatic, quirky, and chic at the same time.

Todd Oldham - eco fashion

Todd Oldham - eco fashion

 

Todd Oldham - eco fashion

Todd Oldham - eco fashion

The seventh collection was Ame Austin Max for MaxStudio, a '95 Otis alumnus whom Leon Max met while she was a senior at Otis. Designing around the concept of structural shapes over feminine pieces, Max's team created a moody collection of dark neutrals with each look a study in chic layers, perfect for the streets of Manhattan. As models walked the runway to Etta James' Stormy Weather, there were plenty of enviable oversized sweaters and coats paired with sophisticated silk shirts and tailored black pants.

Ame Austin Max for MaxStudio

Ame Austin Max for MaxStudio

Ame Austin Max for MaxStudio

The eighth collection was Michael Maccari for Armani Exchange who came out from NY to be a mentor for Otis. His team used modern shapes and fabric mixes as modern updates to iconic sportswear shapes. Set to a backdrop of the New York skyline, the clothes were slightly similar to the MaxStudio collection but with a bit more color. The layered outfits shown were ideal for the urban jungle where weather is a constant outfit issue. One standout piece in particular was an extremely oversized yellow and black woven sweater coat paired with a long scarf, brown gloves, and floppy fedora.

Michael Maccari - Armani Exchange

Michael Maccari - Armani Exchange

 

Michael Maccari - Armani Exchange

Michael Maccari - Armani Exchange

The ninth collection was David Meister whose team created dresses and jackets that focused in one color, pink. A fun, flirty collection of sophisticated party dresses, these pieces were ideal for women who are not afraid to stand out and make a statement.

David Meister - pink

David Meister - pinkDavid Meister - pink

David Meister - pink

David Meister - pink

David Meister - pink

 

The tenth collection was Morgane Le Fay whose students designed an entire collection based around the movement and shape of hummingbirds. Design student Lisa Uchiyama worked on Morgane Le Fay's team and spoke a little about the process of creating clothing based around the idea of an animal, "it was kind of hard to get that concept of the hummingbird and having the fabrics interpret the movement of birds. But working with such delicate fabrics, it really made me understand the concept of handling materials and why you use certain materials to get a certain feeling. I thought taking the bird and using the movement of chiffon fabrics or silks that are so lightweight and transparent really projected the feeling of a hummingbird."

Morgane Le Fay - hummingbirds

Morgane Le Fay - hummingbirds

Morgane Le Fay - hummingbirds

Morgane Le Fay - hummingbirds

The eleventh and final collection, which also included an awe inspiring circus performance, was from Cirque du Soleil costume designer, Dominique Lemieux, who came as a mentor to Otis from her base in Montreal. Her team designed theatrical costumes from sunrise to starry night inspired by crystals. Starting off with Sunrise, acrobats performed to Here Comes the Sun while wearing gorgeous crystallized body suits based primarily in yellows, oranges, and browns. Moving onto Fire, a classical ballet pas de trois was performed in red, brown and orange crystallized unitards almost appearing as if they were on fire. Water was the next element to be explored with performers wearing blue and green crystallized unitards. The finale was simply breathtaking as all performers came back on with dramatic jackets, overcoats and capes adorning their bodysuits. The student design team really had a chance to delve into fantasy with these designs and they did not disappoint. All of their outerwear designs were delightfully over the top and wonderfully illustrated the idea of costumes playing a role in theatricality.

Dominique Lemieux - Cirque du Soleil

Dominique Lemieux - Cirque du Soleil

 

Dominique Lemieux - Cirque du Soleil

Dominique Lemieux - Cirque du Soleil

Dominique Lemieux - Cirque du Soleil

Dominique Lemieux - Cirque du Soleil

For the Otis College senior fashion design class, this annual event is a celebration of literally years of difficult and dedicated work. A few lucky teams will even have their designs displayed for two weeks in the store windows of the Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. What comes next for the 2012 Otis senior class is leaving their school community to put their hard earned skills into practice. If these collections are any indication, the fashion industry is about to gain some extremely talented new designers.

For more information on the Otis Scholarship Benefit:

http://www.otis.edu/sbs

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© 2012 The Los Angeles fashion Magazine - Photography by Kai He

www.TheLosAngelesFashion.com