PANTONE  

EMERALD

COLOR  OF  THEYEAR

Inaugural  DressMICHELLE  OBAMA

DIY:  For  The  Hair

&Bow  BunHead  Scarf

PLDLetting  your  

inner  croqui  shine!

Spring 2013

ercyhurst University Fashion Newsletter

Like  BILLBill  Cunningham  Photo  Contest  showcases  student  and  local  talent SPRING              

TRENDS               London  Fashion  Week

Gala  DebutStudents  design  and  construct  party  dress  for  Pittsburgh

Erin Knepper, EditorSenior

Sara Chuzie, Co-EditorJunior

Isabella CardinaJunior

Jenna SmaldinoJunior

Rosaly PaganFreshman

Molly MurrayJunior

Kayla KellyJunior

This June Briana Nicolia and myself will be travel-ing to Florence, Italy with AIFS, a study abroad

a!liate with Mercyhurst. In Italy we will be studying at Richmond, the American International University, a U.S. accredited university in Florence and obtaining three credits toward our degree. During our month in Italy we will have the opportunity to travel to Rome and Venice along with many other city excursions that are only a stop away on the train. Briana and I will be rooming together on campus with two other girls from the United States. Our classes run Monday through "ursday and are either in the morning or a#ernoon. "is gives us a lot of free time to explore the city and to get to know it as best as we can. "ere is no cafeteria on campus, which means our meal plan is open to many of the restaurants in the sur-rounding area. We are dying to get our hands on the food! "is is an opportunity of a lifetime and we encourage everyone to look into the study abroad programs o$ered at Mercyhurst. We will be keep-ing you all updated through the Mercyhurst Fashion Merchandising Facebook page as much as we can during our visit, but until then, Ciao!

ContributorsAdvisor: Jennifer Craven Ciao  Bella!

Mercyhurst students step across the Atlantic to study abroad and have the summer of a lifetime! By: Jenna Smaldino

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Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 the world watched as President Barack Obama took the oath of o!ce for the second time. While this was the purpose of the event, the fashion industry was antici-pating what designer’s gown the First Lady Michelle Obama was going to wear to the Inaugural Ball. All of the fashion crit-ics and editors predicted Mrs. Obama to wear a di$erent design-er than she had chosen in 2009. Four years ago, she chose a new and upcoming designer named Jason Wu. Wu’s fame and talent was highly noted in the fashion industry shortly a#er Michelle Obama wore his one-shoulder chi$on gown to the %rst

inauguration. "is year she shocked au-diences, not only with her choice in Jason Wu again, but with her new bangs, as well. "e red dress she wore was made out of a lightweight chi$on fabric, similar to her dress in 2009. "e dress allowed her to move freely as she and the Presi-dent danced to Jennifer Hudson singing “Let’s Stay Together.” When planning to wear something for an important event, you must consider what you want to feature. Mrs. Obama is enthusiastic about exercise and staying healthy, so she has a great body. One of her best features is her arms, and the dress she chose highlighted this area. Some say she made the

choice of Jason Wu to stay safe, but the dress exempli%ed that playing it safe works for Mrs. Obama. As a fashion idol, Mrs. Obama has been known to re-cycle out%ts and accessories as one of her trademarks as First Lady. She also frequently wears a$ordable brands such as J.Crew, Talbots, and Liz Claiborne. Michelle Obama has been known in the fashion industry as one of the best dressed women in America. Wearing the Jason Wu dress only made her rise higher on the list. She has started the year 2013 o$ on the right foot in fashion.

Michelle Obama: Inaugural Ball DressBy: Isabella Cardina

DIY:for  the  hair

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Golden Globes 2013By: Rosaly Pagan

Lea Michele: BEST Lea Michele looked &awless on the red carpet at the Golden Globes. Wearing an Elie Saab ivory gown, her look was sleek and sexy. It clearly is a no-brainer, she deserves to win “best dress.” Not only does the halter top emphasize her shoul-ders and beautiful face, but the leg-revealing slit gives her that erotic appeal. "e ivory color really compliments her skin tone and works well with her hair color, as does the detailing and beads on the dress. Even though she kept it simple with the ivory Giambattista Valli heels, she was still a standout. Glow-ing, sunkissed skin and so# waves in her hair complete the out%t. "is is de%nitely one of her best looks yet!

What were they thinking? One is not enough for this year’s “worst dress.” Two earn the prize this year. First, Jessica Chastain needs to %re her hair stylist. "e hair was pulled back to reveal the plunging neckline, but it did not have the in-tended e$ect. "e Calvin Klein gown is beauti-ful, however, the sky blue color did not compli-ment her complexion at all. Rachel Weisz’s hair and face look stun-ning, however, the Louis Vuitton gown was di$erent. "e gown tried for a playful, elegant look, but did not succeed. "e polka dots and overlay drag the dress onto the “worst dressed list.” For the Golden Globes, polka dots? Re-ally? "ese women are beautiful, but unfor-tunately they made it onto the worst dressed list for the 2013 Golden Globes. Better luck next year!

Jessica Chastain & Rachel Weisz: WORST

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And the Gloves Are O!...Now that spring is approaching, it is time to take the gloves o! and expose those "ngernails! Nail pol-ish can make any out"t go from ordinary to extraordinary. Spring has a great amount of promising trends for 2013 to make your nails look fabuluous.

Trends include:

Pale Nails - this is for the simple girl who wants to add minimal ac-cent to her look.Dark Nails - from dark navy to deep purple to charcoal gray, dark nails are hi#ing the spot this spring.Flash of Metallic - add a li#le sparkle to your out"t with metal-lic hues of silver, gold, and copper.Two-Tone - this new twist on the French manicure adds a pop of color.Edgy Elements - these goth-inspired nails are shown as drip-ping blood, shark bites, and blood spa#ers.

By: Molly Murray

WHO: Jessica Beckert (Introna)WHAT: Associate Manager, Email Marketing

WHERE:       “ developed my skill and ability to man-age and prioritize

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“it is so

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AlumniCorner

Pantone Color of the year           Emerald  Green

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1.  Cartoon  Graphics

2.  Bare  Middrifs

3.  Filing  Suits

4.  Mixed  Prints

5.  Monochromatic

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6.  Peek-­a-­Boo

7.  Seeing  Red

8.  Outrageous  Accessories

9.  Sixties

10.  Structure

London  Fashion  Week

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FASHION STAR“Fashion Star” premieres on NBC Friday, March 8 at 8:00 p.m. Tune in and you will see the face of a Mercy-hurst graduate! Erika De Salvatore graduated from the fashion merchandising program in 2000, and is origi-nally from Erie. She will be representing Express as a buyer on the show. "irteen designers will be vying for the prize of launching a clothing line in three retailers: Macy’s, Saks Fi#h Avenue, and Express. Erika will sit on the panel of the three judges and determine the fate of the contestants! Cheer on a Mercyhurst Alum and tune in for the premiere!

Hurst alum makes her reality show debut!

By: Sara Chuzie

Each year, fashion students create their own 6-piece collections using Adobe

Illustrator. This year’s class saw a variety of lines, including couture, athletic

wear, children’s wear, and even men’s surf wear. Here’s a glimpse at some of

our students’ work!

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Brittany Scully

Kerry Roberts

Bree Nicolia Jenna Smaldino Kayla Kelly

Bree Nicolia

Isabella Cardina

Erin Knepper

Product Line Development/Illustrator

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Street Fashion Comes

to the ‘Hurst by: Kayla Kelly

As  most  of  us  are  familiar  with  The  New  York  Times,  many  fail  to  recognize  the  83-­‐year-­‐old  fash-­‐ion  photojournalist  behind  the  artwork:  Bill  Cun-­‐ningham.   Cunningham  is  known  for  his  candid  New  York  City  street  photography  and  Time  Style  sec-­‐tion  columns  “On  the  Street”  and  “Evening  Hours.”Friday,  Feb.  8  Mercyhurst  and  the  Erie  community  gathered  in  the  Taylor  Little  Theatre  to  watch  the  documentary,  “Bill  Cunningham  New  York”  where  we  learned  a  little  more  about  the  mysterious  man  on  the  Schwinn  bicycle.     His  passion  for  street  fashion  began  at  Wom-­‐en’s  Wear  Daily.  He  eventually  quit  working  at  the  publication  because  the  publication  took  his  photos  and  made  the  women  on  the  street  look  bad.  Cun-­‐ningham’s  intent  was  never  to  take  pictures  out  of  cruelty;  he  only  took  pictures  of  fashion  he  liked.“The  difference  for  me  is  I  don’t  see  the  people  I  photograph.  All  I  see  are  clothes.  I’m  only  inter-­‐ested  in  people  who  look  good.  I’m  looking  for  the  stunners,”  Cunningham  said  in  a  2002  article.   My  favorite  part  of  the  documentary  was  seeing  where  Cunningham  lived  in  Carnegie  Hall.  It  

shared  bathroom  in  the  hall.  In  the  documentary  he  said,  “Who  the  hell  wants  a  kitchen  and  a  bathroom?  Just  more  rooms  to  clean.”  I  thought  his  perception  of  life  was  so  humorous.  Money  was  just  an  object  to  him  and  he  didn’t  de-­‐sire  it  at  all.“If  you  don’t  take  money,  they  can’t  tell  you  what  to  do,  kid.  That’s  the  key  to  the  whole  thing,”  Cunning-­‐ham  said.   Another  inspirational  statement  he  shared  in  the  documentary  was,  “Money  is  the  cheapest  thing.  Freedom  is  the  most  expensive  thing.”I  thought  it  was  so  ironic  for  someone  to  say  who  works  in  the  fashion  industry.  In  addition  to  the  documentary,  Mercyhurst  fash-­‐ion  department  and  the  Institute  for  Art  and  Cul-­‐ture  held  a  contest  called  “Be  Bill  Cunningham.”  The  contest  called  for  people  to  submit  their  own  photos  of  street  fashion  from  Erie.    The  submitted  photos  were  displayed  in  the  hallway  of  the  fashion  department  and  a  small  soiree  was  held  before  the  

  There  were  several  entries,  but  the  winner  was  Mercyhurst  student  Caitlin  Ewing.  She  received  a  professional  print  of  her  image,  a  display  on  the  MIAC  website  and  $50  gift  cards  to  The  Limited  and  Isaac  Baker  Menswear.

Bill Cunningham

Winning Photo

Students at Soiree

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Gala Debut By: Sara Chuzie

Hurst students’ design contest is featured at Epilepsy Event Gala in Pittsburgh!

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Colleen Fulkerson, the special events coordina-tor for the Epilepsy Foundation’s western and central Pennsylvania chapter always goes for the unexpected when dressing for the annual black tie bene%t event in Pittsburgh. "is year was no exception. She wore a dress designed and constucted by our very own Ap-parel II class! "e event featured a CEO of a %nancial company, inspiring the theme of money. "e two Apparel classes, both taught by Abbey Rowe, were thrust into a design competiton literally overnight: students in the courses had no idea they would be designing and constructing a dress at the begining of the term, nor did they know their work would be featured at one of the biggest annual fund-raising galas in Pittsburgh! Each class was given the task of choosing a sketch artist and coming-up with inspiration and an ultimate design. Voting then ensued and the a#ernoon class won the prize of designing Fulkerson’s attire. "e runner-up class, however, also got to design an out%t for the event: Fulkerson’s assis-tant.

"e winning class consisted of: Renee Pilato, Sara Chuzie, Mary Richardson, Max Schroeck, Hilary Anderton, and Alexis Spoden. "e students then had to construct every aspect of the garment, utilizing new and old skills: a true team e$ort. "is design project o$ered a great opportunity to see and understand fashion from “outside of the book” and in a real-world situation! Students did everything from the original sketches to the %nal construction. "e winning design featured a heart-shaped neckline, a bodice accented with pennies, a peplum, and an above the knee skirt. "e runner-up featured an accented tuxedo jacket, a wrap skirt, and sequin embellished top. All the students put in 100% and worked hard to make the garments the best they could be. Everyone took pride in the %nal garments produced and found great excite-ment in seeing their own design/work circulating the &oor of a major event gala.