Four Cal State Long Beach student-designers have been selected for this year’s Rags II Rhythms fashion show, an on-campus event that highlights emerging designers.
The fashion show, which takes place Thursday, also provides an opportunity for student-designers to network within the fashion industry.
Ana Rosales, a senior fashion merchandising major, is among the four who were chosen.
“I’m really excited for the show,” Rosales said. “[Rags II Rhythms] lets me go in the direction I want to go with my designs.”
Rosales designed one garment for Campus Couture, another campus-held fashion show, last year, but she said she has never created a full clothing line for a show.
“Rags II Rhythms is more me, [whereas] the Campus Couture show that I’m doing [this year] is more of assignments and what I’ve learned,” Rosales said.
Rosales will be showcasing her line of eight garments for Rags II Rhythms this year.
She described her line as “grunge meets glam,” with electro-inspired bright colors and a hint of edginess.
“What I like about designing is that you have an idea and you sketch it out, and how the final [garment] all comes together, it’s the best feeling,” Rosales said. “[After] all the hours, and everything put into it, it’s the best thing in the world.”
The 12th annual Rags II Rhythms fashion show will feature the four student designers, underground designers, and big apparel companies, such as Buffalo Exchange, Torrid and Loehmann’s.
The executive director and producer of the show, Alana Janay Johnson, has worked for the show since 2009. She spends six months planning the show from start to finish.
“The purpose of the show is to showcase the under-designers who are just starting out and haven’t been able to open up their own stores or maybe go mainstream,” Johnson said.
In past years, there have been up to 17 designers who presented their 10- to 15-piece collections in the show.
To cut down the time this year, Johnson chose 11 designers.
“Casting designers has become really cutthroat because we want to have a good production,” Johnson said. “Not that it hasn’t been [good] in the past, but we just want the audience to have fun the whole time and not lose interest.”
The theme of this year’s Rags II Rhythms fashion show will be “Check Into Timeless Fashion,” with an old, vintage, Victorian hotel with a modern twist.
“I thought it’d be really cool to have a skit of models checking into hotels and having luggage and doing a fun thing like that,” Johnson said.
The Rags II Rhythms fashion show typically attracts 450-500 people, Johnson said.
The show begins at 7 p.m. in the University Student Union ballroom.
Tickets are $12 for students and $15 for non-students.
Tickets can be purchased in the University Student Union at the Information Center.