Alumni
California Apparel News Covers FIDM Menswear Grads
FIDM's Menswear Program recently held a reception at the Los Angeles campus for its 2019 graduating students. Fashion industry bible, California Apparel News, was there to report on the new graduates' designs.
The unique program, one of the few of its kind in the U.S., places an emphasis on the business of fashion. Students complete courses on supply-chain management and distribution strategies along with design. After experiencing a 10-day trip to the Dominican Republic to tour factories and talk with executives about operating major facilities, the students were tasked with a senior project: to develop fashion with a technological edge.
Six Menswear Students displayed their work as part of the reception. According to California Apparel News, their wearable-technology styles drew heavily from each student’s life experiences, perspectives, and social concerns. Helmer Guevara drew from Central American art and crafts. One of his pieces, a quilted down jacket with several compartments (including one for a life vest and another for a small water-filtration system) had immigrants in mind.
Aaron Galanza's nylon jacket, which she called a "Swiss Army knife for clothing," featured a hem light strip that can blink and flash when walking at night. The jacket had a flashlight in one pocket and another packed with a detachable rape alarm. Skateboarder Odalis Garcia (pictured above) created a nylon jacket equipped with a light strip that flashes at night.
Former rodeo barrel racer Juliana Deintinis was inspired by rodeo riders and Asian fashion for her solar-energy charger vest that can power a Canon Powershot G7 camera—a favorite among influencers. August Ortega’s tech-inspired jacket featured solar panels that connect to a battery pack in the front pocket to charge a phone.
Ramone Payton was honored with the Menswear department’s “most marketable” award for his luxe streetwear line inspired by prep-school uniforms and fraternities. His tech piece, a jacket outfitted with a battery pack connected to a heater, can be turned on like an electric blanket.
