In pictures: Istituto Marangoni Miami students make debut at Costa Rica Fashion Week

Six students of the Fashion Design BA program at Istituto Marangoni Miami debuted their collection last week during Costa Rica Fashion Week (CRFW). The students showed their skills and talents in front of an international audience and took the first step towards a career as a fashion designer.

The students that showed their collection were:

Paloma Balvin

According to Balvin’ her inspiration “originates at Beijing Daxing International Airport, fascinated by its magnificent architecture and the idea of it being the point of departure. That point of departure for the path that one must pave when wandering when dreaming when exploring new territories. It emphasizes the visualization of skyscrapers, lines, forms, and massive pieces.”

Belkys Costa

This collection is inspired by the art of dance specifically in the acrobatic world with hoops and silks. According to Costa the collection “embodies movement, sensuality and wholeness with the use of draping, sensual accents and circular seams that represent the circle, “the universal symbol of unity and enlightenment”.”

Alexia Barbosa

“Ámbar is a womenswear collection that manifests the relationship between architectural silhouettes and the evolution of women. The collection combines the transition of the colors, the silhouettes and shapes inspired by Zaha Hadid's architectural works, and pleats that coexist with degraded pastel colors.”

Simon Santrich

Deformation is a gender neutral collection. Inspired by how humans are at fault for the destruction of their own planet.

Maria Jose Vergara

Vergara says that “at the heart of this collection lies a desire to reflect on our current lifestyles. Designed taking into account the uncertainty of the world nowadays, and how to find tranquility within the chaos and disruption the pandemic brought.”

“The collection connects silhouettes inspired by the 90s with graceful materials such as organza and mesh, featuring oversized shapes and high fashion cutouts across contemporary patterns. The purpose is to highlight the feminine figure while creating a delicate yet subversive look.”

Jamie Avadis

According to Avadis the capsule collection is inspired by calling back to the 90’s where the grunge movement was born. “the concept of this collection plays with opposites, expressing how contrary forces may actually be complementary and rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.”

Recently, the school has partnered up with Costa Rica Fashion Week as an official academic partner and supporter of CRFW. According to Istituto Marangoni, the key elements of this partnership are fashion education, synergetic opportunities, and the growth of Costa Rica’s fashion industry. The school will provide advice to national designers, host educational panels, and talks about entrepreneurship, trend analysis and the future of the fashion industry.

In addition, Massimo Casagrande, Dean of Fashion and Mario Braghieri, the Program Leader of Fashion Design, will choose an emerging designer for a scholarship award to attend Istituto Marangoni Miami.