Sacramento State’s Fashion Association put the fashion creations of seven student designers onto a spot lit catwalk inside the University Ballroom on Tuesday night.

Each designer showed at least six pieces that had a similar theme, but each piece had its very own personality. Many designs were red-carpet-worthy, others were ready for the club scene and some were only fabulous for the kitchen.

Last night was a university version of Heidi Klum’s Project Runway. Just like in her show, some designs were good, some were bad ass and others were ugly.

Victoria Vaughn’s collection, Bikibon, stood out among the rest. The first design she presented was a bad ass translation of the classic little black dress. She took a simple strapless pattern and whipped it up with shiny blue fabric and a black high-waisted belt. Vaughn began with a high note and never changed her pitch. Her designs seamlessly weaved vixen, sexy and elegance together. Black, red, green, and blue were shown in her collection. She used these bold colors wisely throughout her designs ?” colors that made a statement. This is one collection that was ready for Hollywood award night.

Several fashion shows consist of over-the-top pieces such as a garbage can lid for a hat or a dress made of compact discs. However, Mercedes Ben’s collection, Benzo Couture Presents The Rock Royalty Collection, had the most daring yet practical designs to wear on any given day.

Plaids, ruffles, browns and grays graced the runway in her collection. One design that stood out was a tan plaid coat. A model walked Ben’s knee-length plaid coat down the runway. She untied the matching belt that cinched the coat at the waist, unveiling a knee-length white dress overlaid with white lace ?” a pleasantly shocking surprise. Overall, her pieces were creative yet sensible. Any girl would look sexy and feel comfortable in her designs.

Though there were several designs that were exceptional and extraordinary, some were, unfortunately, in need of an explanation. In the show there were a few designs that left me mind boggled. Is that an apron? Did a jaguar sneak backstage and claw those jeans? Is that dress designed for butter churners? These were only a few of the questions I had in the back of my mind as I watched wild fashions come down the runway.

But whether a design was awesome or awry, I commend all the couture creators for putting in countless man-hours and their unique talent in the daring fashions they presented on the catwalk last night. Congratulations student designers for putting on an awesome show. Your work leaves me in admiration.

Olivia Gray can be reached at [email protected]