Many people grow up playing dress-up and wishing to piece together looks seen in movies such as “The Devil Wears Prada.” For some American River College students, the dream can become a reality. 

The fashion department at American River College, which has undergone some upgrades since the pandemic started, is putting new tools to use in preparing for the upcoming fashion show on May 7 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Student Center. 

This year’s theme is “Visages,” which aims to showcase the freedom to express many sides of oneself through fashion, according to the program’s Instagram post for the show. 

Featured runway designs come from the students enrolled in the collections design and production class. The production is put on by the students enrolled in the fashion promotion class within the department. This helps to hone in on skills students have gained throughout the other courses within the program according to Zoha Afshar, an ARC fashion professor. 

Each student is tasked with creating three-to-five looks, and sometimes more, based on the theme and interpreting research for trends and styles into the works. This acts as a final portfolio for the students to end the semester with. 

“We do more learning experience here than any other institution I have taught at,” said Dyanne Marte, the ARC fashion department chair. “We do a lot of research on what the trends are, what is happening now and what the skillsets are [that] students need, so they can easily transition into the work world.”

Judges are typically professionals from the industry who come in to help give feedback. This year the judges are a fashion blogger who works at “Good Day Sacramento”, a fashion merchandising professor from Sac State and an ARC alumni designer, Afshar added.

The classroom used to make the pieces has undergone a remodel since the pandemic to include better tables and space to work in. 

Marte used the department’s allotted budget for all the new equipment brought in right before COVID-19 shut everything down, so this is the first semester students are getting to utilize it. Machinery such as a fabric printer, laser fabric-cutter, and instant ironing boards are among the equipment added. 

There will also be an upcoming fabric sale on April 23 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Proceeds help fund fashion department scholarships. The fabric is $2 or less per yard and the sale is cash only. The department requires bringing proof of vaccination and recommends masks and shopping bags. The event will be held in the Science & Fine Arts Building, Room 105.