Woodbury University's 51st Anniversary Fashion Show A Tribute to Personal Creativity

    LOS ANGELES, CA, June 05, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Amid the storied environs of the Majestic Downtown, one of the city's architectural treasures, Woodbury University staged its 51st Anniversary Fashion Show in early May.

In welcoming the senior class, Kathryn Hagen, Fashion Department chair, paid tribute to "freshmen who started with me on this amazing journey four years ago," marking her own arrival as department head in 2012.

Senior class collections drew on personal identity and inspiration. Alisa Tovmanyan channeled Armenian folk art for her collection of dream-like digital prints (pictured), while classmate Polina Zeynalian embraced her inner "professional dreamer," mixing spider-web designs, architectural silhouettes and moody digital prints (below). Araksi Balyan, who graduated with honors earlier this month, brought to the runway designs inspired by both the frigid Armenian/Russian winters where she grew up and the myths surrounding the Snow Queen character that fascinated her as a child. She used texture and embellishment, rather than color, to convey the variety of winter elements. Her knits are created by hand, and she designed the pattern for the laser cut leather.

For third-year fashion students, "Status Streetwear" was the order of the day, evoking "the codes of music, sports, art, social media and culture." Second-year students showed swimwear collections inspired by the Tokyo Robot Cafe -- adorned with edgy digital prints, with processing courtesy of Colorway Inc. (see Andrea Martinez, below).

Woodbury honored legacy sponsor and graduate Judith D. Tamklin, founder of the university's fabric fund, a source of both quality fabrics and industry research. Also recognized at the event: longtime supporters "fashionistas" Rosalind Johnson Henneman, who studied executive fashion arts in 1937 and 1938; and Hildequard Archuleta, 1955 fashion executive arts graduate who initially conceived of an annual Woodbury fashion show. Archuleta subsequently did modeling work with famed designer Rudi Gernreich and makeup giant Max Factor.

"Our Fashion Design core philosophy encourages immersion in all aspects of fashion design from inspired research, illustration skills, sewing mastery, and design relevance," Hagen said. "We were delighted to put that our philosophy into practice, and on to the runway, for the just-concluded 51st Anniversary Fashion Show."

About Woodbury University
Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. It offers bachelor's degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and College of Transdisciplinarity, along with a Master of Arts in Media for Social Justice, Master of Architecture (MArch), Master of Interior Architecture (MIA), Master of Science in Architecture (MSArch), and Master of Leadership. The San Diego campus offers Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees, as well as an MSArch degree with concentrations in Real Estate Development and Landscape + Urbanism. Woodbury ranks 15th among the nation's "25 Colleges That Add the Most Value," according to Money Magazine. Visit woodbury.edu for

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