By Erin Phillips and Joshua Barranco

May 1, 2019

The Fashion Show at Genesee Community College celebrates its 38^th anniversary on May 4th, 2018 in the Richard C. Call Arena on the west side of the Batavia campus at 7 p.m.  

With almost 2,000 people in attendance alongside additional viewers with the event’s live streaming, the capstone Fashion Show Production has become the largest fashion show in Western New York. Each spring semester, fashion business majors participate in showing off their skills and knowledge by organizing the show, which allows them to build on their portfolios.

The show this year is titled “Limitless,” meaning nothing is restricted. One of the greatest things about this show is the coordinators are using models of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and race. Kento Takayama, one of the shows scene coordinators, said that the theme “limitless means that there are no boundaries, no rules as to what you can be.” “Limitless” is a no boundaries, inclusive, inspirational and innovative take on fashion. The show will feature a variety of colors, creativity and originality in an array of designed and styled scenes.

Takayama is from Japan and found out about GCC’s program through a professor in Rochester. “I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew that I wanted to go to America,” he said. “The culture was honestly calling to me so I did my research with the help of my [professor].” I asked him what his favorite thing about the program and he said, ‘I like everything, I love what I’m doing honestly.’”

With the live streaming offered for the show as well, Takayama is able to have his friends and family see the show as well. “That another thing that attracted me to this program, I’m able to send my parents the link to the show and they can watch it all at home which means so much to me,” he said.

Being part of any production can be very time consuming. “It’s very important for everyone in the program to have great time management skills to be in these courses,” Takayama said. “It’s hard to be a part of a team if everyone does not do their part to make it the best it can be.” 

The scene he is directing is called “Ambitious.” Takayama said, “I’ve traveled a lot and I’ve experienced a lot of different cultures, so ambitious, I think, really describes me perfectly.” His collection will show a lot of bold and flowing pieces “I found inspiration in nature and in the wind.”

Another scene coordinator Nicole Favata, a sophomore in the fashion design program, has multiple dresses lined up for the runway. Favata’s scene theme is “Envious.” “I’ve centered the entire collection around the color emerald green,” she said. “My collection is six dresses. Each one conveys its own sense of envy.” Favata is also a part of the marketing committee who is in charge and responsible for all the social media posts, poster decisions, and posting to our fashion blog. “This year’s show will be unforgettable,” Favata said.

Tickets are now available for purchase online at http://www.dailynewstickets.com. General admission tickets remain just $5 (plus a ticket processing service fee of $1.30 per ticket). This year however, special VIP tickets are also available for $25 (plus a ticket processing service fee of $2.41 per ticket) providing preferential seating, a GCC Fashion Show SWAG bag, as well as admission to the Vendor Fair, Fashion Show, entertainment and the post-show reception.