FashioNext 2017: Teams and Final Looks
Congratulations to this year’s talented teen designers! To see the season’s final looks, check out the exhibition Look Book.
RejuveNation: Judges’ Choice Award
Maine East High School
“RejuveNation” is a team of nine diverse fashion students. Each individual brings their own unique talents to the challenge. Our team is comprised of individuals who excel at fashion illustration, construction, and apparel design. We chose our name because we want our design to portray the upcoming and rejuvenated nation in “Snow.” Much like the people in the story, our team comes from different backgrounds, but we unite to conquer a new beginning.
RejuveNation’s Final Look
Team RejuveNation’s design is inspired by Mainbocher and created for the third female president of “Snow.” The bold cloak is made up of a black base with silver fabric blocked together on the back. It is adorned with a gold and silver hood along with military-inspired epaulettes and has a double extending train. The elegant gold dress has pickups throughout the skirt with a hint of pink on the bottom right corner that is covered with industrial gears and metal studs. The sweetheart bodice is embellished with gold and silver studs to tie everything together.
Diverse Designs: Costume Council Jury Prize
Niles North High School
Diverse Designs is composed of nine students from Skokie, Illinois, a very diverse community. We come from grades 10 to 12 and are all first-time competitors in FashioNext. Although we come from a manifold of cultural backgrounds and all possess distinct talents and styles, we are woven together by a passion for the art of fashion. As fresh-minded individuals, we look forward to making a contribution of our own aesthetic to create something extraordinary.
Diverse Designs’ Final Look
This sophisticated piece was inspired by Mainbocher’s versatile talents and influential fashion contributions. From constructing formal suits for the nation’s armed services and the iconic Girl Scout uniform, he also influenced liberating trends for feminine dresses. The earth-toned color seeks to symbolize camouflage and minimalistic trends during wartime, and the embellished pins are added for a more refined and regal look in contrast to the fabric. Lastly, the addition of bold color-blocking ruffles further emphasizes Mainbocher’s signature flair—a statement attraction added to a simplistic piece.
Thin Mints: People’s Choice Award
Maine South High School
What originally started out as “Mentees” transformed into “Thin Mints.” We are a group of senior and junior girls. We are different in so many ways, but our love for fashion design and construction—even the seam ripping part—has brought us together. As we were looking at the tables of fabric, the one that stood out (and the one we bid all of our rations on) had a delicious, silky mint-colored fabric amongst it. We were also inspired by a mint gown and the Girl Scout uniforms designed by Mainbocher. Thin Mints was the perfect fit!
Thin Mints’ Final Look
The vision for our garment was to create something that integrated the variety of styles created by Mainbocher, while still adding modern elements. In doing this, we created a two-piece design out of a silky mint fabric as well as a sheer apron that is reminiscent of the apron design for which Mainbocher was famous. Additionally, we used gears in innovative ways to lace up the back of our top and cascade down the apron. Throughout the design, there are several gold accents, which elevate the style of our garment and allow this eye-catching design to be worn with confidence.
Bow and Needle
Lane Tech College Prep
Bow and Needle is comprised of students who met in Lane Tech’s Fashion Club. At Lane, we take pride in all we do, and each one of us is proud to carry the fire of the warrior. Instead of competing with a warrior’s arrow, we will shoot for the stars with needle and thread. This group of ten is driven by peace, love, positivity, and creativity. Our diversity is the magic bow that we carry.
Bow and Needle’s Final Look
Team Bow and Needle’s garment incorporates Mainbocher’s design structures and the futuristic short story “Snow” by Laura Ruby. The team combined Mainbocher’s defined cinched shape with a robotic arm and an illuminated veil, as a nod to the dystopian theme, as well as the colors red, silver, and blue to illustrate the patriotism of “Snow.” The garment flips the red fabric of the dress to sparkle on the inside, adding individuality and fluidity to the design as a whole.
Crowned in Garnet
Young Women’s Leadership Charter School
Crowned in Garnet is a team of young African American women leaders who have different senses of style from different walks of life. We’re a fusion of creative, diverse, unique, and cultured young women who’ve come together to create a garment that represents Mainbocher for the next generation. Our garment will show transition in style from armor to avant-garde.
Crowned in Garnet’s Final Look
A soldier, a survivor, a queen: different in their appearance, she embodies all three. Resources are scarce, days of freedom are distant memories, and being an individual can make you stand out for the wrong reasons, but her crown reminds her that fear is not hers to hold. Her attire, worn and patched, is her badge of honor, always ready for battle. But look closer, and see she’s still all woman, and hints of gold and bronze keep a sparkle in her eye despite the darkness. Layered for every occasion and scenario, the warrior gleams with the promise of tomorrow.
Fashion Senses
After School Matters, Chicago Vocational Career Academy
Fashion Senses is a group of eight enthusiastic innovators. We are preparing ourselves to be future leaders in the medical, culinary, horticulture, and cosmetology industries. FashioNext is a creative stepping-stone that encourages risk taking and the courage to explore the unknown. It is an opportunity for individual students to showcase their creativity through design, embellishing, hand sewing, and crocheting. Career choices will lead us to different paths, but we are on a united path to creating something great as a team.
Fashion Senses’ Final Look
Our garment is a mix of hard and soft, feminine colors and edgy details designed to make the wearer feel beautiful and confident. Inspired by Mainbocher’s love of making a statement by dictating each element of an outfit, specifically jewelry that is actually sewn directly onto the garment, this gown features a gear-and-bead necklace that appears to float on the wearer’s skin. The candy-pink shade references several of his silk dresses, delicate but also strong and enduring. The train floats away from the structured gown and moves independently, a quality that is prized by and reflected in the woman who wears it.
Maine Couture
Maine South High School
We are Maine Couture, a group of junior and senior girls currently enrolled in Fashion 3 and Fashion 4 classes. We met in class and have grown from beginner to advanced students. Many of us have been involved in Fashion Club and competed through the fashion program at our school. Participating in these events has helped prepare us for FashioNext, expanding our creativity and teaching us teamwork. Our name represents our school and connects us to Mainbocher. Our love for fashion is what makes this team great. Fashion is a part of us and will stick with us in our future pursuits.
Maine Couture’s Final Look
The 1970s-inspired flare pants are laced up with sixteen hand-painted grommets. The corseted, sky blue wrap top has been embellished with gold and silver jewels and blue floral straps. The look is completed with an earth-toned cape that consists of more than fifty gathered ruffles on the back and a grommet front closure.
Twyce Styled
After School Matters, Chicago Vocational Career Academy
Twyce Styled is a spirited group of ladies who have come together to share their talent and collaborate to build something that may be an inspiration to others. Though ultimately we may become carpenters, cosmetologists, or even medical professionals, this team has many types of artists, from illustrators to chefs to designers. FashioNext will give us an opportunity to step outside the box and create a unique garment from thought process to fruition. We look forward to inspiring one another and sharing creative ideas.
Twyce Styled’s Final Look
Our name, Twyce Styled, is inspired by the idea of turning something old into something new and fresh, which is how we created this look. The main character in “Snow” had gone through hardships, including losing an arm in battle, but the strength and optimism she showed for the future was something that we wanted to represent in our look. Deconstructing fabric and using metal hangers and gears to create the prosthetic arm that is a daily reminder of what she has survived and using Mainbocher’s uniforms as well as his floral and bejeweled eveningwear as inspiration, we have created a fresh look that shows how strong and tough femininity can be.
Visualizing Vyntaje 2072
George Westinghouse College Prep
Visualizing Vyntaje 2072 (pronounced veen-tah-jay) is a group of students with a passion for fashion! So far we love learning more about the first American couturier who grew up in the same neighborhood as our school. Our team name is loosely inspired by the title of his exhibition, Making Mainbocher, and his decision to change the pronunciation of his name for his label. Also, while we recognize that “vintage” can mean many things today, we see it as a broad style that we have a shared appreciation for with Mainbocher. By adding 2072 as the year, that opens up our design options even wider.
Visualizing Vyntaje’s Final Look
If Mainbocher had lived longer, we believe he would have gone on to design pants like ours, loose and flowy on the bottom and fitted at the waist, similar to a dress. Mainbocher also incorporated attached accessories, which we imitated with our gear strap. In addition, we deconstructed the dress given to us into individual flowers placed in between the gears, giving the strap a little shimmer. Ultimately, our look is designed as a modern twist on Mainbocher’s elegant eveningwear with durable fabric and a dystopian color scheme.