Sexy. Bold. Beautiful. Every aspect of the 2016 CCAD Fashion Show encompassed these three words. The lights, the cameras, and the music: it was all attractive and vibrant. In the air one could feel the rising magnitude of the event. The annual showcase of the best CCAD Fashion Students did not fail to raise the bar this year. There were all kinds of collections, wild looks, and cutting edge design.
Thanks to the Columbus College of Art and Design, and Warhol & WALL ST, Flypaper Magazine was able to cover and experience the liveliness of the epic event. This year’s event kicked off with a fabulous VIP cocktail hour leading up to the show and was to be followed by a dance party and jazz lounge. The production was held on the CCAD campus on the night of May 13th.
The night kicked off with new president of CCAD Dr. Melanie Corn. She started off by commemorating the late and former president of CCAD Denny Griffith with a video that highlighted his many great contributions to CCAD and the city of Columbus and ultimately asked the audience, “How have you helped an artist today?” Providing the community with a call to action to support local art and artists. After the video, Dr. Corn introduced the winner of the very first “Spirit of Denny” award. Michael Weiss, former Express CEO, was the recipient of the award. He was a close friend of Denny Griffith and together they have impacted the city of Columbus in a greater fashion than most can understand. Weiss was also gifted an original screen print made by Denny Griffith himself before his passing earlier this year. Melanie Corn also announced that every part of the proceeds will go toward the scholarship fund for CCAD students, making it possible for designers and creatives from all over the world to chase their dreams.
From the words of fashion expert and former CEO of Express, Michael Weiss, “Columbus is now the third fashion capital of the United States. New York at number 1 and Los Angeles at number 2.” The CCAD Senior Fashion Show is a catalyst in this great achievement for the city of Columbus.
This year the show drew influences from all of the nooks and crannies of the world. Nothing repeated itself. Designers were inspired Spanish and European styles, Japanese colors and texture, North American pop culture, and the list goes on.
Designer Brittany Carpenter was the first of seventeen students to showcase her line of earthy floral garments. Second, representing those who are active, Bethany Rakovan showcased her cutting edge line of athletic wear. The third line of the night came out with European flare. From Designer Lauren Metelitz, she employed influences from Spanish bullfighting culture and also added a touch elegance from the romantic act of flamenco dancing. Jessica Deluca introduced the youngest top models of Columbus with her children’s fashion line. Her use of a pastel color palette in her designs worked well with with her young models to brighten up the show. Jacob Maitland’s line of evening gowns stole the show. His collection was a crowd a favorite. He was the last to showcase his work. He drew influence from post war era France and used innovative fabrics to add a modern twist to his work. The crowd went into a craze when he appeared after his last garment. The night ended with an after party in the Jazz lounge hosted by Abercombie and Fitch. Here the students had the opportunity to take it all in and bask in the cultivation of there hard work and education while mingling with top fashion designers and leaders in the industry.
Now enjoy a few words from the perspective of recent CCAD graduate and designer Jacob Maitland. Here he shares his experience at CCAD and offers advice on how to stay on the trajectory to making your dreams come true.
Congratulations Jacob!!
“I realized this is what I need to be doing. I don’t know why but something just clicked.”
How did you get into Fashion?
“I did hair for 6 years in Chicago and LA and then came back to Ohio to attend CCAD at the age of 24.”
Do you think you will ever go back to hairstyling?
“No. It wasn’t for me. I got into hair because it was affiliated with fashion, but I somehow knew intuitively that I wasn’t ready for college and pursuing a fashion career. It took living on my own and becoming self-reliant to figure out what kind of challenges I wanted to endure in order to build an understanding for fashion and develop the drive to pursue a career in the fashion industry. I needed to challenge myself creatively. “
How did you arrive at CCAD?
“I was doing hair at the time. I went to visit my ant and uncle in New York for Christmas actually, and it was the year that the Costume Institute was doing the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty collection right after his death. So I went to that exhibit and I had an epiphany. I realized this is what I need to be doing. I don’t know why but something just clicked. So I put a portfolio together and applied to schools in the Midwest. CCAD made the most sense financially and logistically.”
What is the Fashion program like at CCAD?
“Overwhelming. I felt overwhelmed a lot. That is just because of the industry and fashion is a complex art form. If you are not in the industry already or learning about it, it’s easy to create preconceived notions that aren’t necessarily correct and that plays directly into your process and final product. When you are a student, you have more creative control over your own work. There is more thought about the client and customer when you are working in a collective atmosphere like a boutique or high-end fashion department. The work load at CCAD is heavy but because I am so passionate about my work and because I have integrity in what I do I often worked 24 hours a day until I got a point where I was comfortable and confident in my final product. College is what you make of it. Anything that I wasn’t learning in class I had to have the initiative to go out and do research and teach myself new processes. I was lucky to have the support of my parents because that helped me retain as much information as possible.”
How do you feel about copyrighting or patenting a certain style or process of your work?
“Fashion is a utilitarian object and that is why there is no intellectual property protection in my field. I think that the industry would suffer if there was more protection because there are only so many different ways you can make a shirt. It goes beyond the style lines of the shirt and becomes more about the different fabrics and kind of stitching you use. Everyone is inspired by other people in the field along with creative things in history and new technology making new things possible. So I think in my case as long as my brand/label in protected I am okay with sharing my process and techniques.”
How did you prepare for the fashion show?
“I started over the summer before senior year because I knew it was something I needed to have work already done before I even entered the show if I really wanted to produce something that I was going to be proud of. So I started researching under-structures of couture evening gowns. A lot of what fascinates me about clothes is the illusion that is created by the underpinning and things that aren’t seen on the surface. I also drew inspiration from a fashion history course I took my junior year at CCAD. I became interested in post war France and wanted to recreate a modern interpretation of the new look silhouette introduced by Diore in 1947. It’s an exaggerating feminine silhouette. So a lot of compressed and singed waists with emphasis on a more full bust, the shoulders being more sloped and rounded and then the hips being exaggerated as well.
So that’s where I got the inspiration for the selection featured in the CCAD Senior Fashion Show. And then I went shopping in the garment district at B&J fabric and found Liquid Look Organza. It is an innovative texture that is a blend of silk organza with nylon clear warped western yarns. It has some drape-able qualities that I hadn’t really seen in textiles before. The fabric reminded me of glass. The way it catches light provides an almost futuristic modern look. That then dictated the color palette and then I got home and began sketching. I wanted to produce something extravagant because I knew that it would be the last time in a while that I would have complete creative freedom over an entire collection. So I made it an opportunity to explore new techniques the I have never used before.”
Describe the night of the show from your perspective?
“Well the dresses that I made are very complicated. They take a lot of time to put on. There are layered closures that the outer dress is applied to. I had five model assistants helping me dress my models. At any time there would be someone holding fabric out of the way for the next model, there would be someone doing eyes and makeup, someone putting on the shoes, and someone placing the vail and it was all happening all at once and as fast as possible. That is why we do so many rehearsals. So that we can get all of that figured out before the night of the show. So it was very exciting and nerve racking. I was so excited to have my family in town to see my work. To see the culmination of my education and where it has brought me and where it will take me. It was the most excited that I have been in four years.”
What are your plans for the future?
“With fashion as a career you have to be careful with what type of job and what type of company you accept employment from because you want to be pigeon-holed into a niche market. You don’t want to be on a trajectory other than where you eventually want to see yourself. So the next step is working somewhere in New York. I plan on interning before I am offered a full-time position. I want to work in a coastal U.S. or European city, like Paris or Milan.”
Catch a glimpse of the CCAD Fashion Show by clicking below!!
To learn more about Jacob’s work go to:
@glitterplease
www.facebook.com/jacob.glamour
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