IADT Turns Out a Fashion Spectacle at Imagine 2011; Kristinia DeBarge Plus a Drum Line!

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Three words: what a spectacle. Thursday evening, the International
Academy of Design & Technology hosted their annual fashion show titled "Imagine 2011" for hundreds upon hundreds of viewers at the UIC Forum. Val Warner, Windy City Live co-host on ABC 7 Chicago, introduced the event with a tribute video to sponsor Ronald McDonald House Charities. Warner was wearing a fuchsia dress from one of our favorite native designers, Nora del Busto, who happens to be an IADT alumnae. Busto, who was seated in the front row for the show, was the "Imagine 2011" honoree for the affair and a cluster of mannequins wearing her designs were placed on scaffolding installed in the atrium of the building.

Grid View

Expand

The set-up included a giant tube that pumped dry ice onto the stage and throughout the audience, upbeat mixed music, and extremely dramatic lighting was quite impressive. The student involvement was fantastic and IADT used their talent wisely. Interior design, visual communications, graphic design, fashion photography, and merchandise management majors all contributed to the success.

With an aptly named runway tribute to the late Alexander Mcqueen, "God Save McQueen", the stage flooded with smoke that poured into our seats. We feel this avant-garde section could have been a bit more over the top, but stayed true to the designers’ individual aesthetics.

Entertainment interludes included guest singer Kristinia DeBarge, known for her hit pop song “Goodbye”, Miss Illinois Angela Sparrow who made an appearance in a shimmering silver evening gown, and a killer drum line that came out of no-where at the end of the night to commend the designers as they took stage.

As for the designs- A jury panel, including Borris Powell, Lara Miller, and Julie Schwanbeck, voted for the looks that made the final cut. The design that got the most attention was a missoni knit inspired gown by designer Que Shebley. We saw a lot of repetition for fabrications, which included: shantung silk, synthetic satins, and taffeta. One segment stood out in particular titled “Furless Leaders”. Each look featured faux fur that required us to do a double take because of the
realistic fiber quality. - Shelby Steiner
· IADT [Official Site]

UPDATE 6/2/11: Imagine raised $17,000 for The Career Education Scholarship Fund as well as Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicago and Northwest Indiana.