Last Saturday night, the fashionistas were out in full force at the Tampa Convention Center. Copious cleavage, sequins, mini-skirts and even the occasional top hat were on display at Strut, the 22nd annual showcase of fashion designs by students at Tampa's International Academy of Design and Technology — and that was just in the audience. Three thousand people packed into bleachers and clusters of VIP tables, complete with champagne and Sephora gift bags, clustered around a long runway inside the arena-sized hall.
On the runway, fashions were both more and less outrageous. The show, which highlights work from students of merit regardless of their year at IADT, ran the gamut from elaborate costumes inspired by an 18th-century queen to prêt-a-porter daytime frocks suitable for a day at (where else?) the mall. Super-sexy swimwear, mix-and-match sportswear, and eveningwear from flirty to elegant rounded out the 250 outfits by 60 designers.
Even before the lights dimmed and the throb of techno music kicked in, a note of excitement in the air hinted that this year's show was bigger and better than ever. Reality TV star Mary Delgado, winner of season six of The Bachelor, took the stage to emcee in a tangerine-and-black patterned floor-length gown by IADT alum Essence Flowers (yes, that's her real name). Delgado, dwarfed by two giant video monitors on either side of the runway, announced that for the first time ever, the event would be telecast on local independent station More TV 32.
With that, the hall plunged to pitch-black, and columns of fluorescent tubes on stage flickered with color and video images; when the lights came up, a gaggle of Marie Antoinettes, inspired by Kirsten Dunst's recent romp around Versailles, sported puffy tulle skirts in neon colors like hot pink and lime green, designed by Michael Della Penna. But something a starlet might actually wear to the Oscars didn't emerge until Paul and Blake's cream geometric-and-floral print winged gown — ever so slightly Pucci-esque — drew cheers from the audience.
A steamy swimwear segment brought the body oil and blond hair extensions to a fever pitch, tanned models looking especially fabulous in Itzel Martinez's gold snakeskin suits, with crisscrossing straps connecting top and bottom, and Candace Imhoff's blue-green metallic bikinis. A group of pre-teen gymnasts emerged to show off competition-worthy leotards designed by Liz Grode, 21, a former gymnast who later told me that she had already parlayed her IADT experience into a job at Dreamlight, a Virginia Beach gymnastics clothing company.
Despite the air of effortlessness, work began on the show two weeks after last year's production; student-designers like Danielle Thornton, 21, admitted that "chaotic" might be a better word to describe the hundreds of quick changes that went on behind curtain. Thornton, who plans a Ralph Lauren internship in New York next year, showed herringbone suits in shades of chocolate femmed-up by ruffles. Shalyla Gainer, a junior who hopes to work for Guess in L.A., grappled with last-minute fittings of models in her rose-and-black evening gowns.
For the finale, 1960s pop trio The Dixie Cups performed their classic song "Chapel of Love" in white satin wedding dresses designed by IADT fashion design program chair Nancy McGee. The trio, who've been Tampa residents since Hurricane Katrina destroyed their New Orleans home in 2005, thanked the school profusely for inviting them to headline the evening's entertainment.
McGee, who taught previously at Parsons School of Design in New York (which even the mildly fashion-obsessed will remember as the school where Project Runway's Tim Gunn taught before snapping up a chance to be Liz Claiborne's chief creative officer earlier this year), explained that the show has become a major reputation-builder for the school both in Bay area and in the state. When asked to compare IADT students to those at Parsons, McGee lauded Tampa students for working every bit as hard and noted that they routinely land internships and jobs in Los Angeles and New York.
For some, though, staying in the Bay area can hold promise, too: Flowers, the alumna who designed Mary Delgado's gown, will open a boutique in Tampa later this year.
This article appears in May 16-22, 2007.