North Texas students are helping sew the future of fashion.
Their designs were on display Friday at Fashion Group International's 43rd annual Career Day.
“Oh, yes; it’s personal,” said Zigwai “Remy” Odukomaiya, a graduate student in fashion and teacher at the University of North Texas.
Students from 11 states spanning the country discovered they’re cut from the same cloth as they showed off their work on the runway.
“It’s amazing. I went to one of the classes today with a designer who compared it to childbirth, and it’s kind of something like that,” said UNT fashion design student Cesar Arzola.
“A lot of them are my first-year students, so for a lot of them, I was the first person they met," said Odukomaiya. "It's amazing seeing students grow up from knowing nothing about fashion design to this moment where they can present their work with confidence in public."
A handful of students at UNT won awards for their designs, along with other Texas schools.
UNT senior Courtney Powers took the top prize, a free trip to Fashion Week in Paris, courtesy of Fashion Group International.
“I want to make clothing for disabilities, for burn victims,” said Powers.
She got into fashion in 2004 after almost losing her arm in car crash.
“When I was in therapy my therapist told me, 'You need to keep using your hand, using your arm,' and my mom, under her guidance, said, 'Hey, take sewing lessons.' So, I fell in love with sewing and got mobility back into my arm,” said Powers.
