UC Fashions a Perfect Fit for French-American Chamber of Commerce

Specially created garments by University of Cincinnati fashion design juniors will be woven into May 10 events planned by the area chapter of the French-American Chamber of Commerce, a group that represents hundreds of French companies with a presence in the region.

During the group’s gala dinner at Drees Pavilion in Devou Park, Covington, fashions by 10 juniors from UC’s

internationally recognized

College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) – especially created for the evening – will be modeled during the event, with the models strolling among the tables at dinner.

According to Nancy Brinker, assistant director of UC’s School of Design, “The event provides fashion students a prestigious event to showcase their creativity and skills. It also helps to establish a long-term relationship with the French-American Chamber of Commerce… and it’s simply a chance to enjoy beautiful clothes.”

The students are working with guidance from Mary Wright, adjunct instructor of design, and all have sought inspiration from the work of a well-known French designer.

Among the garments to be displayed that evening is

• A three-piece men’s suit by Michelle Gabriel, 22, of Fairfield.

The grey, wool suit is colorfully offset by a lime-green, hand-painted silk used for a tie, to line the jacket and pockets, and as part of the vest.

Said Gabriel, “I love working with wool. It’s easy to make it do what you want. It doesn’t complain too much, and yet, it’s sophisticated.” The real challenge for Gabriel was the approximately 20 hours required to hand paint a design on the silk then used as a liner and as an accent for her wool garments. She added, “I took the trouble to hand paint the lining because I wanted a pattern that would really pop, be noticeable. And the store bought materials just didn’t do it for me.”

In this assignment, in which she was inspired by the work of Yves Saint Laurent, it helped that Gabriel has already gained considerable cooperative-education experience working at Gap Inc., in San Francisco; at the costume shop in UC’s College-Conservatory of Music; at children’s wear designer Kule in New York; and with LPK in Cincinnati.

• A three-piece women’s ensemble by Vanessa Wells, 22, of Indianapolis.

The ensemble features a full-length, raspberry wool coat with elaborate beadwork and embroidery on an oversized shawl collar. The coat covers a loose-fitting, sleeveless top of satin as well as skinny pants of chocolate-brown wool. Both the pants and the coat are lined with a silk containing a pattern of strong, geometric shapes.

Wells find the intricacies of her beadwork and embroidery especially challenging, spending up to 70 hours on creating that detailed work along with other aspects of her garments. “It’s a great many small details and finely tuned techniques that come together to make the big picture,” she said, adding that she was inspired in her work by a well-known French school of embroidery named Lesage.

In completing her ensemble, Wells was helped by her former co-op quarters with Sewing Service in Fairfield; Abercrombie & Fitch Company in New Albany, Ohio; Fossil in Dallas as well as travel to Milan, Italy.

• A coat and dress inspired by Louis Vuitton was created by Amy Goetz, 24, of Taylor Mill.

Both garments are of wool-cashmere. The chocolate-brown dress is accented by a patterned lining and scarf. The dress, with its cinched waist and sleeves that puff dramatically at the wrist, emphasizes form and structure.

Explained Goetz, “With a dress as structured as this, it’s necessary to be precise when creating it. It has to fit and lay perfectly… with the sleeve detail and in terms of the texture of the cashmere and wool.  I’m learning that accuracy in craft is essential. There’s no rushing it. No skipping steps. There’s a reason we’re so painstakingly taught to take time and care with our work.”

Goetz’s co-op background includes working quarters at Garan Incorporated in New York; Abercrombie & Fitch Company in New Albany, Ohio; and Vera Wang in New York.

• A dress (of satin) and coat (of winter white wool) created by Laura Gordon, 22, of Payne, Ohio.

The shimmering champagne-colored short dress and coat complement one another in both color and in length and are inspired by Christian Dior.

Gordon reported that she’s never worked in wool before, and so, likes working with what is a new material for her. The most challenging part is striving for perfection with her garment. “With tailoring,” she said, “there is a tedious side to  technique, to sewing and forming a garment. If it’s not perfect, then you have to rip out what you’ve done, and do it again. And I’ve had to begin again a lot.”

Prior to working on this quarter-long project, Gordon has had co-op work experience at Abercrombie & Fitch Company in New Albany, Ohio; for actress Jaime Pressley and her clothing line (Pressley plays the character of Joy on the comedy My Name is Earl); and for Victoria Secret Direct in New York (the company’s catalog and Internet division).

Other students participating in the “living exhibit” for the French-American Chamber of Commerce are

• Erin Deters
• Maggie Frey
• Althea Harper
• Christen Kleinfelter
• Elizabeth Robb
• Erica Woodmore

• Visit DAAP's site to learn more about the fashion design program.
• Visit Admissions to apply to the fashion design program.