Earlier this month, UTM got a fashionable makeover when it played host to Rock the Runway, a week-long fashion competition that culminated in a runway show in the MiST Theatre.
Hosted by UTChinese, the competition was open to university students from across the GTA and ended up welcoming contestants from UTM, St. George, York, Ryerson, and George Brown.
Rock the Runway featured multiple rounds of competition. The designers were first divided into teams and given five days to complete a piece based on the themes of fire, earth, and water. Then they had four days to individually design a look inspired by the movie Frozen.
The contestants’ hard work was celebrated in a final runway show on March 14, which featured UTM students modelling the designers’ looks. The fashion show was also an opportunity for the judges to declare the winners of Rock the Runway. The judges were Adrian Wu, a designer who made his debut at the age of 18 at Vancouver Fashion Week and whose work has also shown at Toronto Fashion Week; Cara Cheung, a womenswear designer whose work has been featured at Toronto Fashion Week; and Robert Ott and Paulette Kelley, two faculty at Ryerson’s School of Fashion.
The judges’ choice prize went to Lesley Hampton, a second-year UTM art and art history specialist. Wu said of Hampton’s work, “The craftsmanship is what stands out to me. It’s not just the look, it’s actually something I would see at Toronto Fashion Week.” Hampton was also awarded the audience choice award and took home a Microsoft Surface tablet and $800.
For more information on UTChinese UTM and to see Rock the Runway photos, students can visit them at facebook.com/utchineseutm.
