The Swim Suit Challenge
See what an Art Institutes education can do! Four students from The Art Institutes California Design College recently appeared on the Tyra Banks Show. The show hosted a competition for these budding fashion design students to put their skills to the test. The students created bathing suits with a theme such as a bathing suit made out of groceries, hardware, candy or even flowers. Each student was given a $75 budget to purchase materials for their suit so they faced quite a challenge. The winner of the competition will be announced November 23 on the Tyra Banks Show. Look below to read about the students that appeared on the show and their unique designs.
Antoinette Love Ransom
Fashion Design Student
California Design College
For some, creating a bathing suit out of items in your kitchen may seem like a peculiar task.
But for Antoinette Love Ransom, designing a bathing suit completely out of groceries for the Tyra
Banks Show was an assignment she was eager to tackle.
Ransom, a Fashion Design student at The Art Institute California Design School, immediately channeled her interest in creative fashion design and artistic liquid concoctions. "I'm originally from Kansas City, home of barbeque and beer, but when I moved to Los Angeles, I learned to make martinis. I would create exotic martinis and sketch something based off of the color. I love the consistency and colors of what the fluid could create."
The main difficulty Ransom encountered throughout the challenge was finishing her creation within the deadline. "We only had a day to sketch the design, make the pattern, and sew it together. But sometimes that's all you have, so I viewed it as a good learning experience." Appropriately, Ransom's final design was entitled "Bikini Martini".
Ransom believes her Art Institute California Design School education has equipped her well for a career in fashion. "When I began my education, I couldn't even sew. I've learned so much about the complex production of clothing at The Art Institute California Design School. The school taught me not to give up, which is a discipline that is definitely necessary to have a successful career in the fashion industry."
After graduation, Ransom is hoping to get internship with a clothing company. Her ultimate dream is to design costumes for television and movies and to eventually develop her own clothing line.
Gina Karris
Fashion Design Student
California Design College
It's not easy to design and create a
brand new bathing suit. It's even more difficult to create
one made only from items purchased at a hardware store. Gina Karris, an Advanced Fashion Design and
Merchandising student at the Art Institute of California Design College, encountered this unique
proposal when she participated in a bathing suit design challenge on the Tyra Banks Show.
Although quite an unusual assignment, Karris recalls feeling excited about the bathing suit challenge. "I felt very comfortable about having to use items from a hardware store, and I loved the idea of incorporating hard metal materials into a sexy bathing suit." She even had a complete mental picture of the design she wanted to create from the very beginning of the project. "I tried to make sketches, but the visual I had in mind was so strong that it fell together quite organically, just like a great song or a painting would."
For Karris, the hardest part of the challenge was locating specific items for her design in a giant hardware store. "I must have wandered back and forth 40 times trying to find where things were, wrapping various cables, chains and tubes around my body. I'm sure people thought I was crazy!" She notes that the inspiration for her suit came from wanting to design an extravagant creation, which appeals to her love for fine costume couture. "I find it very fun and rewarding to make things that no one has ever seen before."
Fashion was always a passion for Karris, who was first inspired to become a fashion designer after discovering her own unique style. After graduating in November 2005, Karris plans to pursue a career in technical design. She has also started her own clothing line. Karris' other interests include painting, music, poetry and magic.
Maggie Lu
Fashion Design Student
California Design College
One of the most unique assignments
Maggie Lu has ever faced would certainly be creating a bathing made completely from candy for a Tyra
Banks Show design challenge. While the task may seem quite bizarre to some, Lu, a Fashion Design student
at the Art Institute California Design College, set immediately to work by choosing which confection she
would use for the suit. In the end, Lu discovered shoelace licorice's deep red color had the most
distinctive and classic look.
The difficulty in working with unmanageable licorice actually fueled more design ideas for Lu. "The design came about when the licorice refused to stay in place and kept breaking. I realized it had a somewhat of a ‘viney' look and feel to it, which in return I made into a jungle theme." Lu was very pleased with her end design, and found the experience helpful in learning to work with awkward materials under time-sensitive conditions. "It was a great overall experience, and in the future, if given a chance I would certainly do it again."
Lu is expected to graduate from the Art Institute California Design College in November of 2005, and believes her education has truly prepared her for the fashion industry. "The Art Institute California Design College has taught me a lot of hands on, real world experience that one would only get after working in the industry for years."
Richard Berrueta
Fashion Design Student
California Design College
Richard Berrueta is inspired by a simple love of clothing. Nineteen-years-old and currently studying at The Art Institutes California Design College for a degree in fashion design and merchandising.
“The fabrics that cover our body represent what we are about and tells the world who we are. It gives every one the experience of being a different person every day, and a change for people to create their own style. I what to be a part of that, by designing and letting people create their own style,” says Berrueta.
Richard recently appeared along with three other fashion design students from the school on the Tyra Banks Show. Each student was given a $75 budget to create a swimsuit based on a theme. His theme was natural flowers.
After graduation Richard hopes to go into the fashion industry and eventually own his own clothing company. “I feel that my education at California Design College will help me tremendously in the fashion world. The instructors give their students feedback from their own real life experience in the industry,” says Richard.
Are you a teen interested in the fashion industry? Click here to learn about The Art Institutes Teen Fashion Innovators Search Presented by ELLEgirl Magazine.
Take a sneak peek at the design process:
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