Two self-taught Chapman University student designers had the opportunity to show off their efforts in the school's first student-run fashion show.
About 100 people attended the runway show Friday night, which raised money for the campus chapter of Invisible Children.
Lindsey Saletta, president of the Chapman Runway Club, and Rena Cheng were the featured designers. Both brought together pieces they made several years ago with those they created more recently.
Cheng, a sophomore studying digital arts, said she finished her last piece just a half hour before the 2:30 p.m. call time.
She said she doesn't get inspired by anything in particular. "Sometimes I look at a piece of fabric and I know what I want to make already," Cheng said.
Saletta also said her ideas come to her by instinct.
"I design for a sophisticated girl who can handle herself in a busy world and have financial success but also has a wild side inside her," said Saletta, a junior communications major.
The idea to stage a fashion show came to Saletta and her friends Alexandra Angst and Alexa Espinoza after they watched "The September Issue," a documentary featuring Vogue and editor Anna Wintour.
Students staged the lighting, provided DJ music, did hair and makeup, modeled the clothes, hosted a reception and set up the space.
Aside from Saletta and Cheng, David Thompson also showed two T-shirts and Gretchen Kunze designed a top for the show.
Among the guests was Chapman president Jim Doti, who was nattily dressed himself in a velvet pinstripe blazer and a red knit tie.
"I'm really impressed," he said. "I'm proud we have such enterprising students — not just enterprising but artistic."
Saletta said she bonded with Doti over their cultural heritage and had invited him to the show.
"He's Sicilian and I'm Sicilian. It's all in the family, I guess," she said.
Saletta was approached regarding other potential projects for the Chapman Runway Club on Friday night, but she wasn't sure the fashion show would be repeated next year.
"It'll take a whole lot to pull together more looks," she said. "It's been a very busy semester with very little sleep."
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