The San Diego History Center and Mesa College’s fashion program commemorated their 12-year collaboration for Fashion Redux 2023 on April 20 at the History Center in Balboa Park. This Glam 1980s event was presented by Margaret’s the Couture Cleaner.

Fashion students from Mesa College visited the History Center last fall to view inspirational garments from this era. The Historic Clothing and Textile Collection has over 7,000 items – putting it in the top 10 collections in the US.

Four garments by designer Arnold Scaasi were brought out of storage for students to view. Scaasi created gowns for several First Ladies, celebrities, and notable personalities. The garments selected were an elegant strapless gala dress, a blue strapless evening dress, a knee length olive dress and a floral printed dress.

Development manager Sheila Thomas gave opening remarks about programs at the museum and then introduced Jordyn Smiley, Director of Fashion at San Diego Mesa College. Smiley led a discussion with the fours top student winners this year: Ramses Alfaro Mendoza, Leo Cotton, Eddie Villarreal, and Robbie Matawaran.

Later, collections specialist Leilani Alontaga-Caithness and Jeremy Prince handed out awards to those students. The Best Translation of Historic Style went to Robbie Matawaran, the Most Innovative Garment was Eddie Villarreal, the Most Transformative Design was Ramses Alfaro Mendoza, and the Most Creative Fabrication went to Leo Cotton.

In the discussion with Smiley, the students talked about their inspiration and challenges as they went through the process of designing clothes with a 1980s inspiration. The devastating AIDS crisis of the 1980s and its impact on the LGBT+ community played a role in each of their designs.

During the evening, guests cast their vote for the “People’s Choice Award,” which also went to Leo Cotton. Cotton’s inspiration came from the construction details of Scaasi’s garments, such as the false button on the back of the red and black dress and the continuous panel of the olive dress. He created a jacket dress with a magnetic opening in the front. It was a convertible piece that could be opened to reveal just a peak of hand-painted flowers on the inside of the jacket-dress.

After the Q&A, guests viewed the exhibit, Fashion Redux 2023, which features the four student garment alongside the four historic inspiration garments. Visitors of this exhibit at the History Center will also see accessories from the 1980s as well as photography of the pinnacle of the 1980s shopping experience in San Diego: Horton Plaza which opened in 1985.

The History Center is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information visit: sandiegohistory.org.

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42nd Annual Golden Scissors Fashion Show on May 12 from 5-7 p.m. at a new outdoor quad at San Diego Mesa College. For tickets: https://bit.ly/3Lpfrj9

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