Boca Raton-based THOS Fashion School of Design students once again impressed the audience and judges with their talent, vision and final designs on full display. Despite torrential rain earlier in the day, Sanborn Square served as a lovely runway for an evening showcase, allowing the models to walk a long stretch with attitude and style, channeling each garment’s vibe.
I was honored to be invited as one of three judges alongside fashion industry experts Rebecca Demonte of Saks Fifth Avenue and Amy Berkowitz of Istituto Marangoni Miami to help select the competition winner. It wasn’t an easy decision and we were thrilled to announce two winners rather than one. Congratulations to Annie Meyer and Chris Black!
Students were tasked with the challenge to design one or more looks inspired by Tokyo streetwear. It’s a theme that gave students a lot of creative freedom. As founder of THOS and fashion mentor Letty Sanchez shares, “I wanted to challenge the students to research and understand another culture while giving them an opportunity to experiment with combining different prints, textures and fabrics within a Streetwear genre.” We saw a few “Lolita” looks, doll-like outfits made popular from anime, but we also saw very cool interpretations of the theme without being too literal that included origami, neon, graffiti, denim, sparkles, embellishments, layers upon layers and color mixing. The fabrics used were varied and utterly interesting. Annie Meyer awed the audience with her tiered statement colorful skirt fabricated in vinyl.
Sustainability played a big part in many of the designs. One of the standout looks by Chris Black was comprised of his previous uniforms as a waiter artfully deconstructed into an entire fashion-forward look. Nina Torok’s entire design was made from dead stock and thrifted materials. “I wanted to make it the most obvious through the rework of thrifted jeans. I used the back of denim jeans as oversized pockets on the pants and old waistbands across the jacket. The jacket also features lapels and shoulder pieces made from jeans while the rest of the jacket is made from a thrifted comforter,” says Torok.
As a designer, it’s a vulnerable experience to share your work with others. “This is my art form, and, as an artist, I put a lot of emotion into my work,” adds Torok. When judges asked the students questions, they were prepared, having done extensive research as part of the learning process.
For Sanchez, the biggest takeaway that students had from this experience was “learning the importance of staying dedicated to starting and finishing an idea while facing many obstacles and ultimately showing them that they have the talent and skill within themselves to achieve a beautiful piece of art.” As for me, the biggest takeaway was the students’ feeling of genuine love of fashion and desire to continue on their path as creatives. Sanchez is not only teaching her students craftsmanship, but she is also mentoring them on the ins and outs of the fiercely competitive retail market and what it takes to make it in the industry. We usually think of the big fashion capitals as the hub for garnering talent, but we don’t need to go far to see a burgeoning pool of creative talent right here in our very own backyard.
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