With models, designers and rooftop catwalks, TREND Fashion Club is hosting its second annual University of Arizona Fashion Week and is telling everyone to prepare for an unforgettable show.
“Expect The Unexpected” is the theme of this year’s UA Fashion Week, and the students in charge of the event said it’s going to be bigger and better than ever. They hope to increase recognition for student and local designers, as well as promote the impact that fashion can have on communities.
As the director and founder of UA Fashion Week, student Jenna DeMaio said it takes a lot to prepare for an event like this, but they are excited to see all of their hard work pay off.
“TREND has prepped for this since the day after last year’s show,” she said. “Preparation for this event has been over a year and consists of picking designers, model castings, monthly fittings, weekly planning meetings, creative design and more.”
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On Thursday, April 26, a designer meet-and-greet will be held at 6 p.m. in McClelland Park room 103. Free and open to the public, this event will allow attendees to meet trendy fashion designers in the area. Fashion collections will be showcased through seminars, where attendees will also have the opportunity to learn relevant branding and design skills.
The Runway Show will be held on Saturday, April 28, at 7 p.m. on the Luna Residential rooftop and will feature a variety of styles and designs from artists such as Theo Doro, Qmulative, Last Ones Left Apparel, Chaos in Denim, Always Live Care Free, Bourgeoisie and Outcharmed.
“My goal at the university is to bring more fashion awareness and creativity to the school and the city of Tucson,” DeMaio said. “This is the second annual fashion week, and it will be a week of history.”
Gabriel Nakovich, graduating senior and president of TREND, explained that UA Fashion Week is a time when members can really put their skills to the test.
“TREND is a club really based on forecasting creativity and professionalism,” he said. “It’s a place for students to come and express their creative freedoms in fashion, whether that’s the journalism part of fashion, the photography part of fashion, the styling, the designing and all aspects of the industry.”
With about 100 members in this club, TREND hosts many workshops throughout the year and connects with local brands, designers and retailers to gain real-world experience.
According to Nakovich, TREND teaches its members to think critically about retail so they can take that information and turn it into productivity.
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Just such productivity allowed this group of students to make this year’s fashion show even bigger, selling more than twice the tickets sold last year.
“It’s important for this community, and especially for the students of TREND, to know that they can make anything happen,” Nakovich said. “It’s a lot of work, but if you care about something this much, you can get it done. Our whole executive board is so passionate about this, and we’ve grown so much since last year. Every week, you’re learning skills that you can apply in the real world.”
With this year’s fashion show, Nakovich is hoping to show the community how impactful fashion can be. He hopes this event will show people how this industry can change the culture in Tucson.
“Fashion creates community and fashion creates relationships,” he said. ”It is about the clothing, but it’s also about what it does within a community to bring people together. That’s what I want people to see, and I want them to know that students are the ones who put this together.”
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