Fashion Week throughout the world is the place to be for a fashion designer. Fashion designers create the clothes we wear, and the style we want to emulate on the streets.
For Jacqueline Banting, a Palomar College student, fashion is a way of expressing her creativity into her designs as she prepares for Exhibit Ambush.
Exhibit Ambush is a showcase that occurs every two years, bringing unknown artists of all fields displaying their creative designs to the public. Exhibit Ambush challenges artists to expand their artistic talents to create art that is both shocking and unique. Jacqueline Banting is no stranger to Exhibit Ambush, having created fashion designs for the showcase before. In 2013, Banting created her fashion pieces using cardboard and other unconventional items.
For 2015, Banting once again returns to Exhibit Ambush to showcase her leading-edge fashion designs. Cardboard designs are a thing of the past, when Banting will use food products in her fashion designs. Banting hopes to create a beaded look by using lentils and rice. The theme for Banting’s design revolves around the idea of duality.
“Duality means good versus bad, right versus wrong. This is my rendition of what it means. Ultimately, duality is me choosing what I want for myself.”
Banting first noticed her passion for fashion designing when she was growing up and she drew characters with clothing.
“An artist growing up, it kind of just grew into my personality,” Banting stated when describing where her love for fashion came about.
Once Banting realized her passion, she researched several fashion designers to gather inspiration. Alexander McQueen, Manish Arora and Elie Saab are the muses in which Banting is getting her inspiration as she creates her designs for this pop up event.
“They (McQueen, Arora and Saab) are very into detail, and their designs are both balanced and creative,” Banting said.
If designing for one showcase was busy enough, Banting is also working on designs for the Palomar College Spring Fashion Show.
“It’s been hectic as having those two events so close to each other,” Banting said when describing her schedule for preparing for two fashion events.
For the college’s fashion show, Banting is developing a theme that is centered on the idea of Spirit Animals. “I want a queen from each world that represents that animal,” Banting said. Some of the animals she is toying with include a chameleon, a koi fish and a phoenix.
Exhibit Ambush is set to occur from 5 to 10p.m. on March 7at the Women’s Museum at Liberty Station, The Palomar College Fashion Show will occur in early May.
Banting said she wants to continue designing in the future and hopes to continue drawing only for the benefit of herself, not caring what others will think of her designs.
“I really want to do my designs, and put my designs in a movie. Most importantly, I want my designs to be free with my heart and not for the audience,” she added.