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Los Angeles Trade-Technical Fashion Students Take Inspiration From Mexico City for Their Designs

Photo by Nick Carranza

The fashion stage set up for the biannual Gold Thimble Fashion Show at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College was alive with colorful decorations that evoked an evening in Mexico City. Large paper flowers in a variety of colors accented the runway, and life-size agave plants made from wood decorated the background.

A mariachi band played before the Dec. 7 fashion show, where students exhibited their creations in several different categories: swimwear, childrenswear, day dresses, menswear, athleisure, avant-garde and evening wear.

The show, held in a large tent next to Aspen Hall, was packed with faculty, parents and supporters of the school’s fashion department.

Mexico City, the sister city of Los Angeles since 1969, was the theme of the show. A number of outfits seen at the beginning of the runway show were created with Mexico City in mind, including a blue-and-white fringed dress whose model wore a Day of the Dead mask as well as a menswear outfit that incorporated a serape into the ensemble.

This year, L.A. Trade-Tech students worked in partnership with a cooperative of women from various states in Mexico using indigenous designs and fabrics that were incorporated in some of the students’ fashions.

In addition, the show celebrated nine student designers selected to receive all-expenses-paid plus salaried experiences for six months at the Nike campus in Beaverton, Ore. They will be working in footwear, athletic wear and digital design.

Those students are: Christy Armendariz, McKinley Bonner, Ndeyfatou Ceesay, Sean Cobb, Charles Green, Taylor Kim, Indah Nur, Aracely Quitana and Sami Sanchez.