Press release:
LOS ANGELES (Dec 1, 2014) – Otis College of Art and Design’s Fashion Design Department announced the names of the professional designers who will mentor students during the 2014/15 school year. They are, for the Senior Class, Zaid Affas, Joe McCarty for Lane Bryant, Liliana Casabal for Morgane Le Fay, Trina Turk, and Bob Mackie. The Junior class will work under the direction of Anna Kenney for Anne Cole swimwear, Ryan Keenan at Quiksilver, DC Shoes’ Alan Hardy, Kesha Pomeroy of Roxy, Heather Brown at PacSun, lingerie designer Mary Jo Bruno, and in-house designers at Urban Outfitters, and Isobella & Chloe childrenswear.
These professional designers volunteer their time to provide direction to a small group of juniors and seniors in the fashion design program at Otis College. Students then work through the design process – researching, sketching, fabric draping, pattern drafting, fabrication to construction of final garment – all under the guidance of the professional design mentor and the Otis fashion design faculty.
For example, PacSun designer Heather Brown has given 15 members of the Otis Fashion Junior class the following design direction:
For Summer 2015, a “shipwrecked” trend emerges with a nobly simplistic modern edge in this “Cast Away” capsule group. Variants of whites and ivories remain important in this bleached-out story as we take our Golden State of Mind out of the ocean and onto the sand. Work with a washed-out, crystallized palette of textured fabrics including denim, mesh and ribbing. Enhance this bleached trend by accentuating the true beauty of the textile and garment shape with fringe, lace-ups and other novelties: Consider flow-y looks, off the shoulder, paper bag waist short, crop tees and intricate-strap tanks, layering of long and cropped.
The best work by these student designers will be presented on the runway on May 2, 2015 at Otis College of Art and Design’s annual scholarship fundraising gala in Beverly Hills. The work-in-progress can currently be seen on the Otis Fashion Design blog.
The mentorship program, developed by Otis Fashion Design Chair Rose Brantley, is unique to Otis, and is the primary reason that Otis is considered one of the best fashion design schools in the country. By working with professional designers and following the industry’s seasonal schedule, students are well prepared to enter the industry work force upon graduation. Past design mentors for the Fashion Design program include Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, Vera Wang, John Varvatos, Diane von Furstenberg, Isabel Toledo, Yeohlee Teng, Behnaz Sarafpour, Isaac Mizrahi, Jeremy Scott and Rick Owens as well as designers from top fashion companies like Nike, Anthropologie, Armani Exchange, BCBG, Juicy Couture, Old Navy and Forever 21.
“Originality in fashion results from a rigorous process of developing and editing ideas to solve specific design problems,” stated Brantley. “The classrooms are the testing ground for new ideas, methods, materials, and equipment as creativity, technology and environmental concerns are merged.” Corporate sponsor, Cotton Inc, is providing important funding for the 2014/15 Otis fashion student design projects.
ABOUT OTIS COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN
Established in 1918, Otis College of Art and Design is a national leader in art and design education. The College mission is to prepare diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, skill, and vision. Alumni and faculty are Fulbright, MacArthur, and Guggenheim grant recipients, Oscar awardees, legendary costume designers, leaders of contemporary art movements, and design stars at Apple, Abercrombie & Fitch, Pixar, DreamWorks, Mattel, Nike, and Disney.
Otis enrolls approximately 1,100 full-time students, and offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Architecture/Landscape/Interiors, Digital Media (Game and Entertainment Design, Animation, and Motion Design), Fashion Design, Communication Arts (Graphic Design, Illustration, and Advertising Design), Fine Arts (Painting, Photography, and Sculpture/New Genres), Product Design, and Toy Design. Otis also awards the Master of Fine Arts degree in Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Public Practice, and Writing.
The five-acre main campus is located on L.A.’s Westside near the beach and LAX; Fashion Design is in the heart of the downtown fashion district; and the Graduate Studios are on the Creative Corridor in nearby Culver City, and in the 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica.
2,700 adults and children participate in Continuing Education art and design classes and workshops. Additional information is available at https://www.otis.edu
