Student
Luis Mejia's DEBUT Collection Highlights the Intersection of Art and Business
Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Luis Mejia was a star athlete and top-ranked high school student who had the choice of attending any college in his state. With a desire to study the business of fashion, Luis chose FIDM and earned a degree in Apparel Industry Management before being accepted to the prestigious Advanced Fashion Design Program. We recently chatted with Luis about the painstaking work behind his DEBUT collection, entitled “Silhouette of Nature,” his path to FIDM, and how he's spending his time during the coronavirus outbreak.
Tell us about your DEBUT collection: Almost every garment took at least three prior samples to make. Certain garments, such as the Rose Jacket, the Dark Grey Lotus Jacket, and the Final Dress, are made completely by draping. These garments took much longer to make due to the necessity of draped fit corrections, hand basting many seams, and then sewing and hand-sewing certain seams that a machine couldn’t get into. “Silhouette of Nature” features fabrics such as brushed poly twill, silk brocade, poly satin, poly double knits, and silk satin weave with direct print.
What was your path to FIDM? I grew up with parents who owned restaurants. I picked up a soccer ball at around four years old. By the time I got to high school, all I wanted was to play college or professional ball. I was given an opportunity to play professionally in Central America, but I decided to continue with my studies here. By senior year of high school, I had a few offers on the table and wasn’t completely sure that I wanted to play college ball anymore; I wanted to focus on my studies instead.
I was in the top 25 of my graduating class, out of over 700, which granted me admittance into any college in my state. At first, in-state schools were at the top of my list, and business was my new dream, but the industry was still up for question. I began looking into the business of fashion and found interest in it. I looked into colleges and found that FIDM was a reputable fashion college, and it was a lot closer to home than the other fashion colleges in the country. I decided to apply and in a few weeks I received my acceptance letter for Apparel Industry Management.
How is FIDM helping you get closer to your career goals? The most important thing FIDM helped me with is providing me a space to learn, sew, and drape after class. What you do after your studies is essential to truly grasping what you’re learning in class.
No one could have imagined a global pandemic would force DEBUT to be cancelled. How are you supporting one another or comforting yourself during this difficult time? I’m currently back at home helping my parents remodel their restaurant. I’m also creating masks with detachable filters and organizing contacts and a calendar for a post-pandemic business.
What do you hope people take away when seeing your designs? That the combination of business and art is a beautiful thing.
FIDM regrets that, due to precautionary measures brought on by coronavirus, or COVID-19, we are canceling this year’s DEBUT and related events. In compliance with government recommendations, we plan to reschedule the event when it is possible to do so. We take the safety of our guests, students, staff, and faculty very seriously and thank you in advance for your understanding during this uncertain time.
Please follow us on Instagram for updates on how we are showcasing all of the student work from DEBUT.
Categories: Advanced Fashion Design Student
