In the midst of USC's Fashion Week, student designers came together to show their work — themed "Fashion of the Past" — to their peers and to a panel of judges.
The judges included Miss South Carolina Suzi Roberts, Department of Retailing Chair Mark Rosenbaum, stylist Marquis Bias - who founded fashion week at USC -, America's Next Top Model alumna Bianca Chardei and USC alumna Caroline Riffel.
The show took place in 701 Whaley, a restored mill located on the outskirts of campus. Student vendors sold items like jewelry, clothes and crafts prior to the fashion show. The actual fashion show featured the work of five designers who each created three pieces, which were displayed by models who walked runway-style through the middle of the venue.
The task of putting all of this together fell to Ellie McDearman, a third-year media arts student and treasuer of the Fashion Board.
"Running the Student Designer Showcase has been amazing but definitely stressful," McDearman said. "It can seem like a daunting task to undertake, but we started recruiting designers in September so they would have plenty of time to finish their designs."
Third-year political science major Elle Winterson came along to the show with one of her friends. Winterson is from London, England, and explained how she didn't know what to expect to see for fashion on campus when she came to USC, but quickly found inspiration in students' individuality.
"The first thing I noticed was everyone's in gym gear, and I'm like awesome — like this is my element, I'm in my element," Winterson said, "Then you see other people walking around in the most amazing outfits."
Though Winterson and many others were there to enjoy the show, there was a smaller group of students who, naturally, played an integral role in the show's existence: the designers.
Alex Kunkle, a fourth-year fashion merchandising student, took home first place, earning a grand prize of lunch with a designer at Belk's Charlotte headquarters. Other winners include runner-up Sarah Dyer and fan-favorite Angel Prater.
Kunkle aspires to one day be a professional designer and plans on attending Savannah College of Art and Design after graduation.
"My inspiration was the artist Gustav Klimt, he's from Austria," Kunkle said. "His most famous painting was The Woman in Gold which was stolen by the Nazis, and that's the evening gown I did."
Her first piece featured a patterned top with flowing sleeves as well as a thick black fur collar. The second piece was an evening gown with a patterned skirt and black, deep V-neckline and proved to be a favorite to audience members. Kunkle's last piece was a color-blocking long dress with eye-catching sheer, floral fabric on the bottom.
"I hope USC students ... will see how many amazing and talented individuals we have at the university," McDearman said. "Attendees will see that hard work pays off and that small businesses and clothing are possible to make, even before you graduate."