Up-and-coming designers debut their high-fashion collections April 11

New York Fashion Academy will host its fifth annual student fashion show on Saturday, April 11, with shows at 7 and 9 p.m. "Prima la Luce," or First Light, will feature the debut collections of 13 students in the final months of their 18-month-long certificate program in design and construction.

Students have designed cohesive collections based on storyboards that they developed in order to hone their design identity. Each designer will have three minutes of runway time to show at least five different looks and is responsible for his or her own models, music, makeup and hair design.

Designer and academic director Terry Horlamus started Ballard-based NYFA (5201 Ballard Ave. N.W.) in 1979. The curriculum focuses on pattern design, fashion illustration, sewing skills and business administration.

"We teach comprehensive techniques in high fashion and construction using the traditional education model of mentor and apprentice," says Dr. Robert E. Whaley, the school's provost.

As a result, the school produces award-winning designers with impeccable skills. In 2008 and 2009 respectively, alumna Karly Orr and current student Rosie Kohlmeier won Project Red Dress, a fashion contest benefiting the American Heart Association.

Orr and fellow alumna Liise Wyatt were winners in last year's "Seamless in Seattle" competition, a contest sponsored by Seattle magazine to find the region's best up-and-coming fashion designers.

And Lekkerlife designer Gwenn Stubbs won first prize in the Museum of History and Industry's 2006 Communaute de la Mode design competition, a contest that required Washington state fashion students to use ecologically responsible materials to create innovative couture.

Tickets to "Prima la Luce" are $25 from Brown Paper Tickets or $30 at the door. The shows tend to sell out, so purchase your ticket early. I'm also told that the shows will start promptly -- a rarity in the world of fashion shows -- and that there will be a donation-based cash bar for pre- and post-show libations.

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company