Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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photography by Michael blanchard (dinner); lucy lyons (lyons and Karger) "There's noT a beTTer momenT for us as faculTy Than when you see The designs all come down The runway." —jennifer varekamp MassArt's fashion design program is hard- core, with students fully plunged into the rigors of rea l-world desig n. By junior yea r, t hey're expected to master evening, bridal, costume, and ready-to-wear design—all so that by senior year, they'll be well positioned to create their own collections, each with a target market. "It's really about getting [the students] to identify their aesthetic and articulate that through their collect ion," Va reka mp says. The st a kes a re high. The fashion show has earned such buzz that merchandising professionals from the likes of J. Jill, TJX, and Puma now quietly populate the audience, scouting for students to hire. "It's the ultimate feedback because there's only so much your peers can critique you on your own work," says MassArt senior Gloria Im. "When someone gets it, it's a really satisfying feeling." I m, who considers hersel f a concept ua l desig ner w it h a "super-a ndrog y nous" st yle, will send her collection down the runway in May. "My theme has to do with functionality," she explains. "[The pieces are] adjustable so that you can transform." Fellow senior Emelie Bergh has titled her collection Second Shift and says it's "focused on intricate handmade garments driven by sustainability" and crafted with eco-fabrics such as organic cottons and hemp t w ills. It 's a project she works on 10 hours a day, four days a week (she's attending classes the other three days). Students begin working on their concepts a nd sketching t heir f irst desig ns in t he fa ll. In December, t hey present t heir completed desig ns for facu lt y rev iew. T he next f ive months are spent honing their collections, or somet i mes completely overhau l i ng t hem. The show is a dizzying frenzy, just like Project runway, the designers say. Backstage there's a mad dash for last-minute tailoring, styling, and revamping, all for what could be a make- or-break moment. MassA rt fashion alumni have landed at some of New York's most pres- t ig ious desig n houses, i nclud i ng Ca lv i n Klein, Diane von Furstenberg, and Marc Jacobs. MassArt's fashion show gives these students the opportunity to fashion their future. The castle at Park Plaza, 130 columbus ave. To pur- chase tickets, call 617-879-7022. BC The gala dinner at the 2014 MassArt Fashion Show. below: 2015 cochairs Kristina Hare Lyons and Ashley Karger. All HAil CAesAr! Bridge repertory Theater gives shakespeare a modern restaging. by jessica bowne There is nary a toga in sight in Bridge Repertory Theater's modern staging of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, about the assassination of the ancient Roman emperor and its political aftermath. "I hope to engender an immediacy that is some- times lost when the play feels like it belongs back in ancient Rome," says founding artistic director Olivia D'Ambrosio, who refers to this play as the "Aaron Sorkin of Shakespeare" for its suspense- ful writing. In her debut as a professional director, D'Ambrosio wants to explore the fickleness of politics—especially the "I love you, I love you not" relationship between leaders and their constitu- ents—and its impact on society. "Having grown up during an incredibly polarized political era, starting with George H.W. Bush and all the way through to President Obama, I respond to the relationship in the play between the people and their leadership," she says. The Boston-based actress and director, who teaches in the department of music and theater arts at MIT and the Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Program, cast sexy, younger actors, who give the show an additional edge. The role of the neither "good nor bad" Mark Antony is being played by actress Tiffany Nichole Greene, with D'Ambrosio casting a woman as a way of reflecting the changing politics of our own world and to push the audience to examine leadership in the 21st century. "Our intimate staging brings the audience close to the action," adds D'Ambrosio, who is striving to forge a tight bond between the actors and the audience in the intimate 60-seat house. Something tells us the Bard would approve. May 9–30. Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St.; bridgerep.wordpress.com 48 bostoncommon-magazine.com CUlTUre Hottest Ticket