Trend Setters

Long before Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney became household names in fashion, they honed their design skills at school.

Related Content

• Nat Kaplan Print Dress at lollyPOP Vintage
  February 8, 2012
• Wardrobe Malfunction
  September 4, 2008
• Arty Girl: One for All, All for One: The Jumpsuit at Phoenix Art Museum
  September 5, 2008
• Green’s Damon Brasch wants to bring vegan comfort food to the masses
  April 3, 2008
• Days of Future Passed
  September 16, 2004

More About

• Stella McCartney
• East Valley Institute
• Kristen Johnson
• Fashion and Style
• Spring Trends

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

Here in the Valley, a crop of up-and-coming young designers hope to follow in Klein and McCartney’s famous footsteps, starting with the debut of their latest designs at the East Valley Institute of Technology’s Sixth Annual Spring Fashion Show.

Look for lots of trendy ruffles, prints and bold colors on the runway as 50 students show off their mini-collections, from red carpet gowns to looks utilizing natural materials. While second-year students are competing for college scholarship money, EVIT fashion merchandising instructor Kristen Johnson says that debuting their finished products on a catwalk is an accomplishment in itself. “When the students have their designs go out on the runway and the audience is applauding them, the look on [their] faces is worth more than anything in the world,” she tells New Times.