Please Post: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News Release For Local News Events
Non-Profit Organization:
The Fashion Program at San Joaquin Delta College
CONTACT: Leslie Asfour
Fashion & Interior Design
San Joaquin Delta College
[email protected] /209-954-5573
“A STORY OF FASHION . . . Runway to Reality.”
(Stockton, (May 2nd,) 2013)
One of the most anticipated fashion events of the year, A STORY OF FASHION is in its sixth year showcasing impressive fashion design talent! And, on May 10th, FASHION will make its presence known in Stockton!
Six years ago, A Story of Fashion showed to a sold out crowd of 800 at the Haggin Museum in an elegant event, with a wine and food reception for the guests who attended. In 2010, the event attracted over 1,000 people to Delta College’s brick courtyard with an open-air show and thirteen designers, an exhibit of fashion and design and a reception from the Culinary Program. For the past two years, it was held in two different vacant spaces in Lincoln Center, both elegant, but each with its own atmosphere and ambiance, and both with a wine and food reception for its VIP guests. The 2011 show had a very industrial vibe in a concrete space with three runways.
For 2012 the show, intimate and elegant was the vibe in a smaller venue, with a VIP reception enjoyed by exclusive ticket holders. According to Uduak Oduok, professional model/attorney/media CEO (who has also assisted in the model workshops held to teach the volunteer models to walk and pose), “The ambience was that of class and sophistication reminiscent of what you would find among the fashion savvy in San Francisco, LA or New York.”
This year, it comes back to the college to the hidden gem that is Warren Atherton Theater (home to the Stockton Symphony) for a larger-than-life, high-energy spectacle. This venue boasts a Broadway-size stage and over 1,400 seats upholstered red velvet, an incredible 60’ screen, visible from all areas of the theater, on which a live feed will be projecting what’s on a runway.
The live feed and the runway, which will jet 30’ into the theater, will give the audience an up-close view of the collections. Over 90 models who volunteer their time to the show, will be professionally styled by local hair and makeup artists, and will be walking the runway.
A STORY OF FASHION showcases the design talent of San Joaquin Delta College’s Fashion Program’s students. This year, 10 emerging designers will showcase their collections, as will 3 alumni students returning to show collections of their own. This year’s the show is packed with brilliant design talent, with nice outfits for women, cutting-edge fashion, and spectacle and drama that will be unlike any show Stockton has ever seen. Each year this show has proven to be a giant success and this year will be no exception.
New to the show this year, and for the first time, a segment will be dedicated to a Fashion Goes Red, Dress Design Challenge, in association with the American Heart Association. This challenge is a fashion student competition that was fostered by the program’s unique partnership with the American Heart Association. This was a challenge to students to be inspired by survivors and the families of survivors to design a red dress that will serve to promote heart disease awareness among young women. The red dresses will be modeled by survivors of heart disease or women who have been affected by heart disease.
A STORY OF FASHION is a collaboration from two-capstone fashion courses, Collection Design and Event Production, and is produced entirely by the students in these classes. Collection Design is led by Natalie Minori Sconce, a former Delta College fashion student who was in the first Collection Design class. Natalie graduated from Delta’s Fashion program and went and has on to participate in San Francisco Fashion Week and
Sacramento Fashion Week. In 2011, she showed her twelve-look collection at Sacramento Fashion Week with great success, which was followed by a eight-page editorial spread in Florum Fashion Magazine and subsequent other magazines.
Natalie now shares her knowledge of fashion and the fashion industry with up and coming designers.
Each of the students in the Collection Design class develops a collection based on an inspiration, then begins a multi-step process which leads to the completion of a cohesive collection. This process involves the creation of inspiration boards, flats (detailed drawings of each garment) and sketches of each look to utilize as references throughout the design process. For each garment, the students create original patterns and construct fit the garments to specific models. All of this is done within a 12-week time frame.
The Fashion Event Production class, led by Leslie Asfour, the Fashion Program Coordinator, is responsible for the production of the show. Asfour developed the Collection Design and Fashion Event Production classes six years ago to give the fashion students a capstone experience and provide them with skills that are only offered here and would lead to successful industry jobs. With an industry so large, Asfour believes that the students need to leave the program with high-caliber experiences that will set them apart from students in other fashion programs at other schools.
In the same 12-week time frame that the Collection Design class works, the Event Production class is charged with the show production. The planning process begins right away, recruiting models, hair and makeup stylists; choosing a venue space; deciding on staging and lighting equipment; coordinating music and choreography; developing and designing marketing and advertising material;, and secure sponsorships and donations for the show. With no funding support from the college, the students must fund support in the local community, fashion industry and kind private donations.
One of the more dynamic aspects for the Event Production class is the development of media and sponsor kits, something not taught in most fashion programs and something that the students will incorporate in their professional portfolios. The media kits have garnered media support from many sources, from TV to magazines to newspapers and radio.
The Event class participates in a number of other events to gain experience in the arena of fashion event production. Each year, the class is the exclusive assistance to A Soolip Wedding in San Francisco. This luxury wedding fair is one of the most exclusive shows for the select bride. This year, the class assisted Lincoln Center with its Bridal Fair and worked on another show Lincoln Center produced at Brookside Country Club. They participate in philanthropic events, as well, including the March of Dimes March for Babies, raising funds for lifesaving research to insure health for every baby.
For the students in both classes, the experience is transformative. They gain a rare understanding of the process needed to plan a professional, up-scale event presented to the public and the demands of presenting it to the standards of the industry.
The show consistently attracts fashion industry professionals, community leaders, business owners and professionals, students and their parents and a wide-range of fashion enthusiasts creating a dynamic atmosphere.
“Unless someone told you, you would think a team of PR professionals were hired to produce the fashion event. There was so much creativity in the room, I kept saying to myself, all of these in Stockton?,” stated Oduok about the 2011 show.
SHOW DATE/TIME:
Friday, May 10, 2013 at 8:00 pm. Doors open at 7:30pm at San Joaquin Delta College Center for the Arts, Warren Atherton Theater.
Tickets are available through the Box Office at San Joaquin Delta College.
Ticket Prices:
Rear Theater $15 (Discounted to $10 each for a group of 10 tickets)
Middle Theater $25 (Discounted to $20 each for a group of 10 tickets)
Online:
http://tinyurl.com/bpa552l
$5.50 fee per ticket
By Phone:
DCA Box Office
(209) 954-5110
$3.00 fee per ticket
By Mail:
DCA Box Office
5151 Pacific Ave.
Stockton, CA 95207
$3.00 fee per ticket
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: CONTACT:
Leslie Asfour
Fashion & Interior Design
San Joaquin Delta College
[email protected]
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