Westphal College, home of artists, designers, writers, produc

Westphal College of Media & Design, home of artists, designers, writers, producers and so much more, just might be one of the best-kept colleges here at Drexel.

On June 1 at URBN Headquarters, senior fashion design majors put on a real-life version of Project Runway, which was produced by the design and merchandising seniors.

It can be described by three words: astounding, stunning and innovative.

I had the privilege of helping out fellow senior designer Nicole Kinstler in her children’s clothing line, which won the award for best childrenswear. I can’t express enough how talented every single student that had a collection in the show was.

I wish I could say backstage is where all the magic happens, but I knew for these students, that wouldn’t be true. Their journey for magic started way before fall of 2018.

We all know if you have a friend in Westphal, you’ll be lucky if you see them three times in a term, as their projects are so detailed, but the end results are worth it. The fashion design students work all year on their clothing lines, from getting the idea, to numerous sketches and the physical end result — which is perfection.

The Annual Senior Fashion Show showcased 34 seniors’ clothing lines with the average number of designs per student being four.

When you walked into the venue, there was a wall of sketches filled with each designer’s favorite outfit. As you kept walking, there was the runway. Behind the runway was organized fun.

By saying the show was organized from an outsider point of view would be a compliment to the design and merchandising majors who had to pull the show off.

Producing the show was left in the hands of senior D&M students, and I was shocked, as execution of everything was flawless. Some seniors in the major who didn’t take the show-production road ended up working on the D&M spring magazine. The 100-page magazine had a preeminent execution. I don’t think it can put Vogue out of business just yet, but it could possibly give Elle or Vanity Fair a challenge.

When it came to finding models to wear these incredible designs, it was left up to senior D&M major Eylul Akbay, who scouted them from an actual modeling agency. That had to be a hard task, as there were over 100 models altogether. Some models ended up being used for multiple designers.

Each student had the opportunity to design whatever they wanted as long as it fell somewhere within the seven categories: experimental, sustainable, childrenswear, tailoring, swimwear/lingerie, sportswear and evening wear.

Not only did they have to design their clothes, but they were allowed to pick and edit their own music for their collection.

As someone who doesn’t pay too much attention to fashion, I appreciated being able to see products that aren’t mass produced yet. It’s significant to hold the amazing garments made by people you know.

I had asked senior fashion design major Liz Fabian if there was anything she wanted people to feel at the end of the show, and her answer was something I think any student from any major would agree with. “I want everyone to appreciate the hard work we as students put into our productions,” she said.

Whether designers received awards or not, I hope they know that they are part of a distinguished group of people in the world that can create wearable art.

The event had two showings, a 4 p.m. and an 8 p.m., and the overall production was executed so professionally and artistically both times. I think the fashion show is something every student should try to attend before they graduate because it is such a unique experience.