The Dallas College Future of Fashion runway is the kind of event that lingers long after it’s over. For student and collection designer Carlos Cardona, the reality of the showcase is only just beginning to set in, three days after receiving the Best Collection award, the feeling is still hard to describe. “Days after the show I just had waves of euphoria hit me, and it feels surreal,” Cardona said. “I wake up feeling like this isn’t real but, thankfully, it is.”
These “waves of euphoria” are contrasted by the high pressure of the environment backstage moments before the show, where a semester of preparation is condensed into one final moment.
The payoff for a fashion design student is intense, but brief. Student and Head of Production Courtney McLeod said, “We stress ourselves out to get everything sewn and meet our deadlines just for a few seconds of glory.” Those seconds represent hundreds of hours of technical and creative labor for students at Dallas College who have a deep passion for fashion design.
The runway featured a total of 149 unique looks with around 210 individual pieces, with their journeys starting much earlier at El Centro campus. Freshmen were challenged with the theme “Humanity: The Art of Beginning Again.” It’s a theme that captures both the diversity of student interpretation and the combined study of fashion design and technical experience, all while staying true to a single color: Cloud Dancer White.
Patterns II student Brianna Webster said, “You have to really give props to the people who came into this program with no sewing experience and now, in their second semester, are sewing ballgowns or entire fashion week looks.”
That growth was obvious when the freshman designs hit the runway. Within the incredible talents of the class, Mayra Rosas and Anna Sarafian stood out as the two award winners of Best Freshman, proving that even students just starting their Dallas College journey can create a design worthy of a professional showcase.
Sophomore students faced a theme that is equally as emotional and, arguably, even more complex. This year’s theme was titled “This Mortal Joy,” challenging students to remember pieces of art that moved them and translate them into a single look. “We had five colors to pick from,” Courtney McLeod said. “A pale green, a royal blue, an orange and this reddish brown. Very vibrant colors for the most part.”
The results of the theme can only be described as an ocean of interpretation. Brianna Webster remembers the moment she saw her peers tackle the same prompt in such different ways. “You look at your classmates’ garments and you’re like, ‘holy moly!’ They had a completely different interpretation of it!” Webster said. When the models finally stepped out onto the runway, the energy of the showcase shifted.
Fashion program faculty member Gloria Wilkes said: “It’s so fun to watch the models come out. It puts life into it!” In the sophomore class, student Rajon Stinnett-Perry received the Best Sophomore award for capturing the feeling of the theme perfectly.
While the freshman and sophomore groups worked within assigned themes, the collection students were given the freedom to come up with their own. For Cardona, that theme was built on a lifetime of memories. His collection used the striking contrast of black and white to represent the past and present, but it was the use of red that told the real story. “Many of those special moments had anger, frustration, love and passion,” Cardona said. “So that’s why I chose red.”
Cardona used stitch lines as a symbol for the paths he has taken, using the vibrant reds to label the “core memories” that shaped him. Even with a beautiful artistic vision, Cardona admitted to facing serious self doubt during the design process, not knowing if his work could resonate with anyone. “I didn’t think any of my work would stand out to the public,” he said. The Judges disagreed, giving him the Best Collection award, while Christian Henderson was given the Best in Show award for having the most standout single look.
The runway is only the final look at everything that goes into the process of the Dallas College fashion design program. Unlike schools that prioritize focus on creative sketching, El Centro’s classes are known for being “technical intensive,” according to Courtney McLeod. It’s a place where students like McLeod, who started as a Dresser before working her way up to Head of Production, can truly learn the industry inside and out.
That intensity creates a sense of community and pride for the students. Designers noted that they feel lucky to be in a program with such talented professors. Brianna Webster says, “I’d be sad for anybody at any other community college.”
For many of these student designers, the runway isn’t the end. Cardona already has his eyes on the future, planning to finish an alterations certificate and return to El Centro with a teaching role. “I want to help out other designers with their journey by giving advice and showing techniques I’ve learned in the past three years,” Carlos said. “It would be an honor to work alongside Mr. Tobias, my professor and big inspiration.”
In the end, the Future of Fashion runway shows that every garment begins with a “little nugget of an idea,” as McLeod put it. From the freshman students sewing their first garments to the seasoned collection students expressing their visions, those tiny ideas are the heart of the fashion design program at Dallas College. Cardona summed up the entire experience in one sentence, “I’m just grateful to be here!”
