Last Friday May 16th, the fashion design graduates of the Altos de Chavón School of Design presented a show that was, without a doubt, worthy of the 30 year anniversary in marked.
For this fashion show was not only the graduating show of these students, but also the show that marked 3 decades of extraordinary art, design and fashion achievements by the Altos de Chavón School of Design, founded in 1983, and this past weekend celebrating it’s 30th graduation.
In attendance at the event was Dominique Bluhdorn, founder and president of the Altos de Chavón Cultural Foundation of which the School is part, Stephen Kaplan, dean of studies at the School, as well as Dominican designer, and former graduate, Jenny Polanco and special guest, Ambassador for the United States in the Dominican Republic, James Brewster.
James Brewster, Bob Satawake, Dominique Bluhdorn, Scorates Mckinney
The following article was provided by Stephen Kaplan.
Estilo 2014 by Stephen Kaplan
This year the 18 graduates of the Altos de Chavón School of Design stunned the audience with their fashion show, Estilo 2014.
It was a show so well planned, with clothes so beautifully constructed and finished that it was hard to believe this wasn’t the work of designers with years of experience. Yet the truth is that these young men and women had studied fashion for only the last two semesters, eight months. They went from pure instinct and passion for fashion to become polishers of the craft… under the watchful eye of their teacher and critic, Julio Marcano… also a Chavón graduate of long ago.
The fabrics were puffs of silk and linen, of lace and embroidery. The palette was pale, almost dusty in its softness. Garments whizzed past on the ground level runway like sunset clouds before a growing storm. Urban chic, cocktail and evening were the categories. Professional level designing and construction stole the show. And the yards and yards of cloth that produced these billowing pieces must have cost a king’s ransom.
“Structure” was the stated theme. The garments seemed to be so architectural, so spare in tailoring that they could have been minimalist constructs, yet, by contrast they were wildly extravagant in other moments. There was more than a nod here to building materials with touches of windowpane plastic and girders of metallic belting and accents.
Rare was the level of sophistication, unprecedented was the market readiness and perfection of finish on the clothes. Hems and seams, fit and drape have never been more managed, more manicured by the Chavon students than they were that night of Estilo 2014 in the Salon Flamboyan of Casa de Campo.
The following collection of photos were taken during the ESTILO 2014 fashion show presented by the 18 graduating fashion design students of the Altos de Chavón School of Design, at the Flamboyan Conference Center in Casa de Campo:
Spanish
Last Friday May 16th, the fashion design graduates of the Altos de Chavón School of Design presented a show that was, without a doubt, worthy of the 30 year anniversary in marked.
For this fashion show was not only the graduating show of these students, but also the show that marked 3 decades of extraordinary art, design and fashion achievements by the Altos de Chavón School of Design, founded in 1983, and this past weekend celebrating it’s 30th graduation.
In attendance at the event was Dominique Bluhdorn, founder and president of the Altos de Chavón Cultural Foundation of which the School is part, Stephen Kaplan, dean of studies at the School, as well as Dominican designer, and former graduate, Jenny Polanco and special guest, Ambassador for the United States in the Dominican Republic, James Brewster.
This year the 18 graduates of the Altos de Chavón School of Design stunned the audience with their fashion show, Estilo 2014. It was a show so well planned, with clothes so beautifully constructed and finished that it was hard to believe this wasn’t the work of designers with years of experience. Yet the truth is that these young men and women had studied fashion for only the last two semesters, eight months. They went from pure instinct and passion for fashion to become polishers of the craft… under the watchful eye of their teacher and critic, Julio Marcano… also a Chavón graduate of long ago. The fabrics were puffs of silk and linen, of lace and embroidery. The palette was pale, almost dusty in its softness. Garments whizzed past on the ground level runway like sunset clouds before a growing storm. Urban chic, cocktail and evening were the categories. Professional level designing and construction stole the show. And the yards and yards of cloth that produced these billowing pieces must have cost a king’s ransom. “Structure” was the stated theme. The garments seemed to be so architectural, so spare in tailoring that they could have been minimalist constructs, yet, by contrast they were wildly extravagant in other moments. There was more than a nod here to building materials with touches of windowpane plastic and girders of metallic belting and accents. Rare was the level of sophistication, unprecedented was the market readiness and perfection of finish on the clothes. Hems and seams, fit and drape have never been more managed, more manicured by the Chavon students than they were that night of Estilo 2014 in the Salon Flamboyan of Casa de Campo.
