Models in make-up and heels, photographers with blinding flashes on their cameras, anxious designers trying to pull a show together and reporters trying to desperately to interview someone who is not busy at the moment. This is the fashion and media blitz that flooded the University Union Ballroom Monday night as Sacramento State’s Student Fashion Association’s fall semester fashion show, “Viva la Fashion,” kicked off.

Models in dramatic make up, wearing themed designs, walked down the runway excited to be participating in a fashion show that was different from the other shows they have worked in.

“The line I’m modeling is very unique,” said Amara Caery, sophomore para-marketing design major, and model at the show.

The fashion show serves as an opportunity for student designers to showcase their work and gain recognition, and each designer was able to create his or her own themed designs.

During the show the inspirations of the designers became evident through their clothing.

“My design was actually about a girl named Rockshelle. She’s a rockstar, but the line shows her whole life in six stages from when she was an infant to when became a rockstar,” Jules Thor, who designed the line Love, Rockshelle.

Thor used a flirty look to show how Rockshelle would be like in high school and more baby-like pieces that made the models wearing pigtails to resemble younger years.

“I tried to imagine what they would be wearing in all her stages,” Thor said.

Thor said the most difficult part of the show was putting together the six pieces in two days, but watching the show made it all worth it.

“Seeing my pieces on the models and walk down the runaway was the most exciting part,” she said.

Designer Kira Martinson, senior para-marketing design major, used a theme that focused more on accessories.

“My line focused on a lot of body jewelry pieces. It was stuff that you could wear during the day and then mix and match them and wear them during the night as well,” she said. “It’s a casual but going-out type of look. It’s very unique and carefree.”

Martinson said her inspiration came from visiting Europe during the summer and seeing a dominat trend of jewelry there.

Along with designing clothes and picking themes the designers also had to pick out their own music for models to walk out to.

“There will be a DJ who is giving us his services for free, in turn for recognition,” said Claire Warner, senior para-marketing design major and media specialist for the club.

“Viva la Fashion,” attracted a crowd larger than any previous show the club has put on.

“It’s a much better turnout than last semester,” said Warner, “We started getting into the media aspect of (fashion shows) and branched out into letting a lot of newspapers and other publications know about the event.”

Warner said the club got a good response from the media and even if some didn’t want to come to the show, they still printed an article informing their readers about the event.

Among the present press were Club X Magazine, Sacramento Press and Sacramento Examiner.

Producers of Magnum Opus’ Sacramento Fashion Week were also present. The organization has formed a relationship with the Student Fashion Association, where it helps with runway choreography, casting models and acting as a sponsor and in turn the Student Fashion Association uses its designers to help promote and represent Sacramento State Fashion Week.

The show served a greater purpose than just getting designers work out there; a portion of the proceeds would also be donated to WEAVE inc., and charity supporting women who are victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, Warner said.

“We looked at a lot of charities and this one just stood out to us,” Warner said.

She said the women were passionate about helping this cause.

Women were not the only designers of the night though; there were two male designers as well. One who had a skating-inspired line and another who had a line called “Soldier of Love.”

Martinson said one of the reasons she like the show was because the show held various styles of design.

“It’s fun to see what all the other designers come up with. Everyone does something different,” she said. “Usually you have fashion shows where there is only one designer who made the pieces or if they have multiple designers the styles (of the clothing) are still similar. Here you get to see varying looks.”

Miriam Arghandiwal can be reached at [email protected]