The looks reflect touches of 1890s art and fashion at the “Fashion Fusion” event at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.
Kyndall Bollmeyer knew at a glance that Vincent van Gogh’s “View of Saintes-Maries-de-laMer” painting would be the inspiration for her design for the “Fashion Fusion” show at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She fell in love with the purple irises in the painting.
For a student designer to showcase her work in a major museum setting like the MFAH is a big deal, she said.
Bollmeyer was one of 24 fashion-design students and alumni from Houston Community College to showcase their work as finalists in the recent fifth annual show and competition, which is a collaboration between the college and the museum. The event was inspired by the museum’s “Vincent van Gogh: His Life in Art” exhibit, which continues through June 27. Some 60 HCC fashion students and alumni entered the competition, and expert judges determined the finalists earlier this year.
“‘Fashion Fusion’ is great exposure,” Bollmeyer said. “Just the fact that you don’t have to be pressured to create something that salable and you have the freedom of expression is incredible. We also get to see our looks walk in the biggest way at the museum.”
Bollmeyer, who graduated from the school’s fashion program last year, said she relied on HCC’s fashion archives to get ideas of what silhouettes looked like in the 1890s, around the time van Gogh painted his famous work. She created a bodice with puffy sleeves, pants and shoes in two weeks.
Another student, Sue Ellen Therrell, designed a look to reflect the tranquil color of the South of France that she saw in one of van Gogh’s paintings. It took her nearly 100 hours to create the yellow-hued silk bodice and two-tiered skirt.
Therrell, 68, said fashion design is a new chapter in her life. She spent 30 years in the commercial construction industry, then taught public school for 12 years before retiring in 2016. She started taking fashion courses at HCC for personal enrichment. Now, she’s thinking about fashion design as her third career.
“I enjoy the opportunity to show off something you made and you are proud of,” she said.
This year’s winners were Tu Truong, Shanda Phillips, Nghi Nguyen, Jade Gillen, David Valdez, Maria Hammond, Mishelle Chayeb and Inge Duran. Regina Vigil was the audiencechoice winner. Prizes included scholarships to the MFAH’s Glassell School of Art, gift cards to High Fashion and memberships to MFAH.
Last year, students at “Fashion Fusion” paid homage to Oscar de la Renta and the museum’s hugely popular “The Glamour and Romance of Oscar de la Renta” exhibit, which featured about 70 ensembles from the late Dominican designer’s personal archives, celebrity clients and the closets of Houston socialites. Former Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley even visited Houston to debut the exhibit.
“What began as just a fashion show has blossomed into such a great outreach program,” said Suzette Brimmer, interim chair of consumer arts and sciences at HCC. “It gives our students an opportunity to present their fashion in a huge area. It’s comparable to European fashion shows, something Karl Lagerfeld would do.”