This week I spoke with fourth-year design and history double major Rumiko Adame. This student designer featured her latest collection, “Ecclesiastic” in the 101st Annual Picnic Day fashion show.
“My collection was inspired by Gothic architecture, pillars, vaulted ceilings, the tracery of windows, pinnacles and arches on churches,” Adame said.
The fashion show, titled Master Pieced, was organized and presented entirely by students in the Fashion and Design Society (a.k.a FADS) in conjunction with the student work done in the class DES 179, “Signature Collections,” taught by assistant professor of design Helen Koo this quarter.
Adame said that her favorite part about participating in the show was getting to work with talented design colleagues.
“Working with the other designers and learning new techniques, especially [with] one of the co-presidents [of the show], Susan Huey,” Adame said. “If I ever had a question, I could go to her.”
Adame, a Los Angeles native, has been sewing since middle school but did not start pattern drafting until she came to UC Davis.
I asked what her least favorite part about designing clothes was and Adame expressed frustration with the occasional disconnect between ideation and fabrication.
“When I have a vision and create something that doesn’t turn out how I wanted, I have to think about what I might change,” Adame said. “It’s about experimentation.”
Adame spent the four months leading up to the show designing and preparing her garments.
“I was creating long gowns — not simple designs,” Adame said.
I asked Adame what advice she would give to other aspiring student designers or even students interested in learning to sew and try their hand at the craft.
“Always sketch. Get your ideas down on paper. Collect images for inspiration. Dive into it. Start draping on anything you have: yourself, a dress form — anything you’ve got. It might not be the correct way to do it, but it’s a start,” Adame said.
To see designs from Adame’s class, you can watch the full fashion show here.
ALLISON REISS can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
Photos by Johnny Ma.
