The Art Institute of Houston Fashion & Retail Management Students Battle it Out in Style Wars

Crowds of shoppers and onlookers cheered on three teams of Fashion & Retail Management students as they battled it out on Saturday, September 19, at the Simon Fashion Now event presented by Cadillac at the Galleria Mall. Their mission was to create a fashionable look by “faux” designing and draping different types of fabrics together.

The students, who were assigned randomly into teams when they arrived, began the show by opening a mystery box of fabrics, thread, tools, and other decorative accessories. Each team was presented with totally different fabrics and notions in order to come up with their unique look.

Judges included Deborah Duncan of Great Day Houston, Rebecca Spera of ABC's show Mirror Mirror, Mia Graney of CW News at 9, Pattie Shieh and Ruben Dominguez of FOX TV. Houston Chronicle Gloss Magazine Editor, Molly Glentzer, emceed the event.

At the end of a fierce competition, Team 3, which included students Ni Pham, Joanna Cruz, Yvette Astudillo, and Krystle Jimenez, won the design challenge with their purple and print cocktail dress.

Congratulations are in order for Jal Jobe, Chair of Fashion & Retail Management and faculty sponsors Jane Hall, Wendy Markgraf and Beverly Gatterson! The Simon Fashion Now events tour all over the nation and is focused on bringing fashions to everyday fashionistas. The show at the Galleria introduced new Fall looks from Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Anne Fontaine, Barneys New York CO-OP, Billy Reid, CH Carolina Herrera, Ed Hardy, Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade, M Missoni, Stuart Weitzman and Tory Burch.