California Apparel News

Los Angeles Trade-Technical College hosted its spring 2025 Gold Thimble Fashion Show on May 30, presented by the Design & Media Arts Pathway.

The evening celebrated 100 years of fashion at LATTC, showcasing innovative designs from the graduating class and offering an inspiring glimpse into the next generation of fashion talent.

The event set the runway with eight categories—evening-wear, swim, children’s, gender neutral, men’s, athleisure, avant-garde and a special 100 years of fashion starting from the 1920s and making its way up to the 2000s.

Graduating senior Rosario Gordillo won five of the eight awards, four of which were first place in swim, men’s, avant-garde and the 100 years of fashion and was the sole winner in the children’s category. “It was a lot of work and there were endless nights. I wanted the other students to win, but it’s a competition, so I’m very proud of myself. I didn’t expect it at all,” Gordillo said.

Other students recognized for their outstanding designs were Suzie Kim, who took first place in the eveningwear category, Jesus Muñoz in gender-neutral and Jeffrey Pascal in athleisure, rounding out a diverse group of winners whose work reflected the creativity and technical skill fostered in LATTC’s Design & Media Arts Pathway.

Karen Chao, professor of the graduating class and a 1980 LATTC alumna, said, “After having been in the industry for over 30 years, my experience has expressed to them what they needed to do to be successful. Every day they must have grit and they must have talent. Talent gets noticed, but the grit gets remembered.”