FC President Brandie Ribeiro Wins First Place in FHA Competition: Full Year Scholarship to Attend FIDM

Congratulations to Brandie Rose Ribeiro, the First Place Winner at the State Finals of the FHA-HERO Competition. The prize? A full-year scholarship to attend FIDM! Brandie is the President of her FIDM Fashion Club at Ruben S. Ayala High School, and was accepted early into FIDM last year when she was still a junior. She will be studying Fashion Design on the Los Angeles campus beginning this summer.

Fashion Club Advisor: Barbara Allen

Do you have any updates you'd like to report since your last interview with FC? I competed in the Regional FHA competition for Fashion Design and received first place. I was selected to be in the Prom Fashion Show at my high school and I wore one of the dresses that I have designed. Also, I am currently working on two designs that I am excited to add to my portfolio.

Tell us about the scholarship you received: I am an FHA/FCCLA member. FHA holds regional and state competitions each year. There are several categories that one may choose to compete in. I competed in Fashion Design. My task was to execute three designs for "Romeo and Juliet," including a cost breakdown for each design, an information sheet of the elements and principles of design, a presentation board, and a speech. I competed at the regional level and received first place, allowing me to compete at the state level. I received first place at the state competition as well. The first place prize was a full year tuition for Fashion Design at FIDM, $100 cash, and a trophy.

What was your reaction when you found out that you were going to receive it? As soon as my name had been announced for first place, I instantly had tears of joy rolling down my face. I was in shock; I am still on cloud nine. FIDM had always been my dream school and to receive a full year tuition, was a dream come true. Hard work really does pay off!

What have you learned as the President of your Fashion Club? As the President of my Fashion Club, I have learned to be creative and more enthusiastic. I have to make sure that the crafts we do are cute as well as cost effective. Also, my personality has a huge effect on my Fashionistas; the more enthusiastic I am, the more excited they are about what we are doing for that meeting.

How has being the president of your Fashion Club prepared you for your future in the fashion industry? Being the president of Fashion Club has prepared me by making me capable of thinking fast on my feet and thinking of others. Each of my Fashionistas have unique personalities and as President, I have to make sure that the activity that we are doing for that day holds all of their interests. For my future as a bridal gown designer, my duty is to make all of my brides feel absolutely beautiful.

Any advice for future FC Presidents? As a retiring President of Fashion Club, my advice for future officers is to put your all into your club because the members look up to us presidents. It is our job to inspire the members to reach their goals and to not let fashion just be a “dream.”

What are your career goals? After my first two years of Fashion Design at FIDM, I will major in Business Management. Both of these majors will prepare me as a bridal gown designer to open up my own bridal salon.

What do you expect to learn at FIDM? I expect to grow as a designer and future business owner. I am excited to learn more about fashion and how to run a successful business; and fall more deeply in love with my passion for bridal gowns. FIDM is an exquisite school providing all their students with the tools and knowledge to reach each of theirs goals.

Anything else you'd like to share? I am so blessed for all the support that I have received from my family, friends, and the staff at FIDM. Thank you, FIDM, for all of your opportunities.

Former FC Member Angelica Villegas Gives Talk at Escondido High School

Former Fashion Club Member Angelica Villegas, now FIDM Graphic Design Student, recently gave a talk to students at her alma mater Escondido High School. She addressed Fashion Design classes and the students were inspired by her story and how she created opportunities for herself while she was in high school.

FC Advisor Sharon Eichten says, "She is an amazing young gal who has grabbed every opportunity. She designed her career path throughout high school, and exhibited a high level of leadership and academic success."

When asked about her career goals, Angelica said, "Becoming a graphic designer is my plan, A-Z. I don’t see myself waking up every morning going to work not designing or translating concepts into visual reality."

Last year, Angelica won the FIDM National Scholarship Competition for Graphic Designer of Tomorrow.

Just Accepted Fashion Design Student Wants to Design and Run a Boutique

Name:  Nicole Delaney Schuur

Age: 17

Hometown: Avondale, AZ

Major: Fashion Design

FIDM Campus and Start Date: Los Angeles, June 2012

Admissions Advisor: Sheila Lang

Tell us a bit about yourself. I have been the President for Peoria High School’s FIDM Fashion Club for the past two years. I have also coordinated the club's fashion show for the past two years and participated for three years. I created four lines, attended the FIDM Debut Fashion Show and pre-party, and will be attending FIDM's 3 Days of Fashion in June. I am so excited to attend Fashion Design College!

What are your proudest accomplishments so far? That I am DECA President 2011-2012 and won 2nd place in DECA for Accessory Apparel Merchandising, Role Play at Regionals, 2nd place in DECA for Accessory Apparel Merchandising, and Overall at Regionals. I also won 1st place in FBLA for Business Plan: Nikki Cole Boutique at the State Leadership Conference and qualified for FBLA Business Plan: Nikki Cole Boutique at Orlando, Florida Nationals.

What made FIDM right for you? What made FIDM right for me is the location, learning from experts in the field of Fashion Design, the experiences I will gain, and the contacts I’ll make.

Describe your entrance project. My entrance project consisted of three portfolios; the first one showcased my past two fashion shows. The second one was of my “Beauty and the Beast” internship where I design and created all 60 costumes for the production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.”  The third portfolio showed my latest Barbie-inspired collection for the 2011 Fashion Show.

What are your career goals? My dream is to become a high end fashion designer and own my own high end boutique Nikki Cole.

What do you expect to learn at FIDM? I expect to learn how to drape, grade patterns, and what it takes to be a fashion designer and how to start my own boutique.

FIDM Footwear Design Grad Jonnathan Guerrero Wins Donald J Pliner Design Challenge and Gets Hired by Charles David

Jonnathan Guerrero won the Donald J Pliner FIDM Design Challenge earlier this year. He just graduated from FIDM's Footwear Design Program and is already working as a designer for Charles David of California!

Name: Jonnathan Guerrero
FIDM Grad Year: 2010
Campus: Los Angeles
Major: Footwear Design

Where are you working now? I am a Footwear Designer at Charles David of California. I design for both the Charles David and Charles by Charles David lines. I also consult on the Charles David Mens Collection.

How did you find out about the position? Through a contact I made during my internship at BCBG Max Azria.

What inspires you? The emotion fashion brings out in me! Clothing and especially footwear can transform the way you feel. When I design shoes I picture and imagine the mood it will create when a woman wears them.

Charles David's "Sail"

Who is your style icon? Coco Chanel! Everything about her styling is somehow always conceptually forward yet timeless.

What’s your favorite item in your wardrobe? A Donna Karan suit I've had for over 15 years!

What’s your dream fashion purchase? Don't know yet.

What fashion websites/blogs do you love to visit? WhoWhatWear and guilty pleasure.... cocoperez.com

Do you have your own blog or website you’d like us to list? It's a work in progress: www.JonnathanGuerrero.com

Have you received any awards or press you’d like to mention? I won 1st and 2nd place on the Donald J Pliner design contest this year. I also placed as one of the top five finalists on the Brown Design Shoe Contest. And I was fortunate enough to receive the Vivian Infantino Footwear Design Scholarship for the 2009-2010 academic year! That was pretty major.

Tell us a little about your experience with the Donald J. Pliner Footwear Contest. I was very excited to hear his comments on my designs. Getting positive feedback and reaction from my instructors at fashion school was very flattering and made me feel good about the choice I made of taking the footwear design program, but when I heard that Donald J Pliner was very impressed and liked all of the designs I submitted, it gave me further confidence that I was on the right road and off to a great start.

Can you please talk a little about your winning designs and the inspiration behind them? I entered a collection of 9 designs. My inspiration came from "Peace and Love". I focused each designed on a person I know. Each design is named "Love" in different languages.

 

 

Jonnathan Guerrero's award-winning designs

How do you feel FIDM prepared you for what you’re doing now? It didn't feel like it at the moment, but FIDM really gave me the necessary tools to get my foot in the door.

Any advice for current FIDM Students? Commit to what you're doing, give it a 100%—that's all you need if you're committed. Presentation is key. Look at your finished product and judge it as if someone was giving the presentation to you. No matter what the major is, INTERN! As soon as you are allowed to by FIDM, please take my advice and intern in the field you want to get into—it helps and it's a gateway to the real working world.

What is your biggest goal right now? I am a sponge right now. It's my first job as a Footwear Designer, so I am learning as much as I can and enjoying the process.

Read more about the Donald J Pliner Footwear Design Challenge in FIDM Magazine.

FIDM Footwear Design Alumna Annie Pho Works for Donald J Pliner

Name: Annie Pho
FIDM Grad Year: 2009
Campus: Los Angeles
Majors: Fashion Design, Footwear Design
Age: 22
Job Title: Footwear Designer
Company: Donald J Pliner

Tell us a little about yourself: I'm 22 years old. I love heels, lace, pearls, and sparkly things. I grew up with three sisters and I think I am as girly as they come.

Where are you working now and what do you do? I'm currently a footwear designer for Donald J Pliner/Lisa Pliner. I help develop and design a collection every season and follow up with various factories including Italy, China and Spain. Lots of traveling is involved to oversee that the designs look good or to change styles that need tweaking. I also have the privilege of working with amazing technicians from Italy who have taught me a lot about fitting shoes.

Tell us a little about how you felt when you won the Donald J Pliner FIDM Design Challenge last year. Excited!

How do you feel winning the Donald J Pliner FIDM Design Challenge has helped you in your career? It has definitely helped with my career. I didn't expect such a great opportunity to come out of it and now I have a full time job with the company.

What inspires you when you’re designing? Everything around me. I look for interesting details and silhouettes in shoes, handbags and jewelry for inspiration. I get a lot of ideas by seeing what stylish people are wearing on the street and I shop.. a LOT!

Who is your style icon and why? So many style icons—Sarah Jessica Parker, Anna Dello Russo, Catherine Baba. They're over the top and fabulous.

What’s your favorite item in your wardrobe? Probably my jewelry—my necklaces and rings that I always wear. That's more than one item but I think they all compliment each other and every piece has a story to it.

What’s your dream fashion purchase? A black croco Hermes Birkin bag—classic and gorgeous.

What are the biggest footwear trends for Fall 2010? Rugged mens tailored shoes. Oxfords, boat shoes, military boots that lace up. Tough over-lasted wedges. Mixed materials like canvas and leather or washed suedes and calf.

Donald J Pliner's "Zerli" open-toe bootie

What fashion websites/blogs do you love to visit? I love looking at blogs! Jak & Jil Blog, Fashion Toast, Luxirare, Sea of Shoes just to name a few...

Do you have your own blog or website you’d like us to list? Yes. I share a blog with Leila Kerze who went to FIDM as well and was in my class for Footwear Design. Now we also work together at DJP! We have style posts and share pictures of our whereabouts. It's called Shoelosophy.

Who’s your favorite artist or designer? For shoes some of my favorites are Givenchy, Alexander Wang, YSL, Margiela, and Valentino.

How did you know FIDM was the right college for you? I've always known I wanted to design and have always loved fashion. It seemed like a good fit.

How did you decide on your major? There was never really a moment where I felt like I had to make a decision I just knew it's what I wanted.

What was your favorite class at FIDM? Sketching classes with Nancy Riegelman! She is so sweet and talented and has great style. I learned of lot of sketching techniques from her.

How do you feel FIDM prepared you for what you’re doing now? The long hours of homework and all-nighters it took to finish projects. That prepared me to work hard.

Any advice for current FIDM Students? Work hard in fashion college and make smart decisions.

What is your biggest goal right now? My goal is to always keep learning as much as I can and keep challenging myself.

FIDM Footwear Design Alumna Leila Kerze Living in Italy Working For Donald J Pliner

FIDM Alumna Leila Kerze won the "Donald J Pliner FIDM Design Challenge" last year, started freelancing for the company shortly thereafter, and is now living and designing footwear for Donald J Pliner in Florence, Italy!

Name: Leila Tamar Kerze
FIDM Grad Year: 2009
Campus: Los Angeles
Major: Footwear Design
Age: 27
Job Title: Footwear Designer
Company: Donald J Pliner

Where are you working now and what do you do? I design footwear for the Donald J Pliner and Lisa for Donald Pliner lines.

So, you're living in Italy, working for Donald J Pliner. What's that like? Italy is beautiful and mad. I absolutely love it. 

How did you feel when you won the Donald J Pliner FIDM Design Challenge last year? Delighted.

How do you feel winning the Donald J Pliner Design Challenge has helped you in your career? Winning the contest was my introduction to Donald. From there I started freelancing for the company. Soon after, I was hired full time and traveling to Italy, China, Miami and New York to work on the shoes.

What inspires you when you’re designing? I hate to be vague, but I draw inspiration from every source—travel, eras, science articles, icons, etc. Music is crucial for me and I always have something playing.  

Who is your style icon? I love Kate Lanphear's style. So many others too, Anne Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela, Tom Petty, Audrey Hepburn, the Clash, Kurt Cobain, the list goes on.

Kate Lanphear at Paris Fashion Week Fall '10

What’s your favorite item in your wardrobe? Either all of my grandma's Native American rings or my fingerless arm warmers that I wear because my hands get cold all the time and normal gloves get in the way of drawing.

What’s your dream fashion purchase? I wish that my Anne Demeulemeester wedges were not "talkers" (they creak like a wooden attic with every step) so I could keep them, but I have to return them. They were my dream.

What are the biggest footwear trends for Fall 2010? Lots of boots and booties. Overlasted wedges. Laces and buckles. 

What fashion websites/blogs do you love to visit? The Sartorialist, Jak and Jil Blog, Style Bubble, Sea of Shoes, Fashion Toast

Do you have your own blog or website you’d like us to list? Shoelosophy

Who’s your favorite artist or designer? William Blake. Calder. Miro.

Blake illustrated his own poetry, turning words into pictures. He also talked to angels. But in all seriousness, it's difficult to take one form of art and turn it into a different media. I sketched a collection of shoes in school inspired by Blake's poems and it was not easy to turn a poem into a shoe, but it was lots of fun.

Calder's mobile sculptures delight me.

Alexander Calder's Hanging Mobile "Sumac II," 1952

Miro's art is beautiful and dilapidated. I really love things that are beautiful and a bit worn down.

 

Joan Miro's "Harlequin's Carnival"

How did you know FIDM was the right college for you? Because I wanted to design footwear.

How did you decide on your major? I went to FIDM specifically for the footwear program so it was pretty easy for me.

What was your favorite class at FIDM? Nancy Riegelman's rendering classes. She is an amazing teacher and we were encouraged to be our most creative and make the most beautiful things under her instruction.

Any advice for current Fashion School Students? Working long hours and not leaving anything half finished or sloppily construed. Get an internship or job asap in your field of interest. Think of every contest and every day, as an opportunity or a job interview. Present yourself as the person you want to be seen as.

What is your biggest goal right now? Perfect my Italian and find a new apartment in Florence.

Star Style at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards

The 2010 Teen Choice Awards were last night, but before you watch the show (airing tonight on FOX) check out our picks for the most stylish stars. --Angel

 

Twilight star Ashley Greene ditched the vampire vibe for a sweet, pale pink Valentino dress.

  

 

Glee beauty Lea Michele glittered in a palm-print Naeem Khan number.

 

 

Heartthrob Robert Pattinson was casual in jeans and a plaid shirt.

  

 

Eclipse star Taylor Lautner stuck with the laid back jeans and plaid trend.

 

 

The evening's host, Katy Perry, wore a sparkling, striped Giorgio Armani strapless dress.

 

 

Teen Queen Selena Gomez wore a flirty, white BCBG Max Azria minidress with open sleeves.

 

 

Joshua Jackson kicked up his casual jeans with a blazer and tie.

Do you just love fashion design or visual communications? A career in the fashion industry might be calling your name! Learn more from FIDM. 

FIDM Students Compete During Style Week O.C.

    The second annual Style Week Orange County that ran September 24 - September 27 attracted more than 10,000 fashion lovers from all over California to view multiple sold out fashion events. 

Among the designers was our very own FIDM Instructor and Alumnus Nick Verreos, who showcased his own line, Nikolaki Designs. Other well-known designers included LRG, who had there first ever fashion show, Ezekiel, OC Metro, Creative Genius, and more.

There was even the Needles & Thread Competition, a "Project Runway" inspired design contest where six FIDM Debut designers showcased looks for Ezekiel's Spring 2010 Collection. The participants showed as many as five original looks on the runway.

Verreos told OC METRO, "The Needle & Thread Competition was amazing and Irvine Spectrum Center certainly raised the bar in showcasing upcoming designers and talent from Orange County."

The winner of this competition was Adrian Manuel of Los Angeles who received $4,000 scholarship from Ezekiel who will pick one of his designs from their Spring 2010 line. Runner up Liz Sandhoefner of Los Angeles was given a $2,000 scholarship from Ezekiel.

Images courtesy of 944.com

    ~ Arali

Photos from 8th Annual Fashion for the Cure

Here are some photos from the 8th Annual Los Angeles County Affiliate Susan G. Komen Fashion for the Cure Benefit featuring the Diane von Furstenberg Collection.

Many were inspired by not only the colorful and delightful dresses and bathing suits from the DVF Cruise/Pre-Spring Collection shown at Smashbox studios in West Hollywood, but they were also inspired by those models who had fought the fight against cancer... and won. Many stood to give a standing ovation to those who definitely deserved to walk that runway.

Celebrities and fashion moguls all over Los Angeles gathered to place bids on silent auction items such as Hudson Jean, and splendid hotel get-aways. The auction was successful in raising money in order to find a cure for cancer.

    ~ Arali

"Breast cancer knows no boundary, be it age, gender, socio-economic status or geographic location," Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

San Diego Students Take the Project FIDM Challenge

Several talented FIDM Students from the San Diego campus participated in Project FIDM. The challenge was to create a summer dress in one week using two donated fabrics and two pieces of existing clothing.

The designs were judged by a panel of industry professionals (from left to right) Qadir Hamidi, Couture Designer; Elizabeth Leffler, Owner of Christie's Boutique; Julia Beeson Polloreno, Senior Editor at San Diego Magazine; Gretchen Productions, Owner/Director of Gretchen Productions, a Fashion Show Production Company. 

The winning design was created by (from left to right) Diana Marques, Leigh King and Chelsey Peart. Each team member received a gift card to Fashion Valley and recognition in the FIDM Newsletter and the FIDM Blog. Congratulations designers!