Chaffey College Fashion Show Draws Standing-Room Only Crowd

The runway came alive with models strutting in the creations of fashion design students during the Chaffey College Fashion Show on May 3.

About 350 people gathered for the event at the Chino Community Center.

The event featured the design collections of 14 students who each had 4-6 outfits to showcase.

“You see the creativity that our students have,” said Chaffey Fashion Program Coordinator Tara Johnson. “We don’t limit them and we want them to be their true selves.”

The event not only showcased the work of Chaffey’s Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising programs, but also decorations from the interior design program and hors d’oeuvres by culinary arts and hospitality management students.

Chaffey has held fashion shows featuring student work for the last 15 years, but had to put the event on hold for several years due to the pandemic. Now the “Design Collection” class, which includes the fashion show, has been revamped to help students become ready for the workforce and entrepreneurial pursuits.

“When our students finish this collection, they should be able to walk away and sell it because we’re giving them all the tools they need to launch their business,” Johnson said.

Students identify their target customers, conduct demographic and cost analysis. They also learn logo design and resume building, among other skills.

It’s a growing industry in the region, with more than 5,000 jobs available in the Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire areas. Labor market figures show that jobs in the field can reach about $81,000 in the Southland. Graduates have gone on to work for companies such as Michael Costello and Shein, and many more have launched their own successful businesses.

Fashion students plan to feature a wide variety of designs, including a collection of “elevated scrubs” – designed by Teodora “Teddy” Burkett, who works in nursing, as well as the streetwear aesthetic of Mustafa Wafa. Wafa’s renowned clothing line Dunya has been featured on runways from New York and Los Angeles to Paris, and his work has been worn by A-List celebrities.

The Chino resident enrolled at Chaffey during the pandemic because it was the only community college in the region he could find that offered fashion design instruction at the time.

“It was on my bucket list to get a degree so that one day when my son asks, ‘Where’s daddy’s degree?’ I can show him,” Wafa said.