From the hot pink Corvettes to the raggedly clad celebrities the laid back and well-endowed beach culture of Malibu undoubtedly inspires its exclusive fashion. Separating the blond highlights and pink Corvettes from the ex-playboy models would be like separating the beach from Malibu: fashion and culture are and always will be tied together.
On Friday the Student Programming Board is sponsoring Custom Made: A Look at Culturally Inspired Design fashion and art show. The show will take place at the Malibu Lumber Yard from 7 to 10 p.m. and will showcase various works of art from students from video to paintings to photography.
The show will be at its core a study of how culture is intrinsically tied to fashion and art.
“Custom Made is an idea that all forms of design are inspired by culture. Everything affects each other said Eloisa Alvarez, the Arts & Culture Chair of the Student Programming Board. I’ve loved the art shows we’ve done in the past and I wanted to bring in the aspect of culture in a way to appreciate it from different eyes.”
Alvarez developed the idea for Custom Made by combining her own passions of fashion art and culture.
“I’m Hispanic so it’s interesting to see how it affects my art… This event gives students a chance to express their individuality. It will be interesting to see how those mix together.”
In addition to showcasing culturally inspired fashion and art the event is also sponsoring a clothing drive for the victims of Hurricane Karl which ravaged Veracruz Mexico in September. In the midst of celebrating unique aspects of culture manifested in art Alvarez thought it was an appropriate opportunity to “connect with our closest neighbors… To really make a difference you can really just do something small to help she said.
Alvarez is working with the Latino Student Association (LSA) to collect old and new clothes, barely worn or worn too much, and will donate them all to the victims of Hurricane Karl.
The entire event will be held in the Malibu Lumber Yard. On the bottom level, there will be a large-scale catwalk for the fashion show. The fashion show, supplemented by student video from the Pepperdine Film Society, will last from 8 to 8:30 p.m. The show will feature 11 student models, strutting clothes donated by the Malibu Lumber Yard vendors including Alice & Olivia, Kitson, La Perla and Wildfox.
On the top level of the Lumber Yard, Art Rush will showcase student works of art with other professional works of art, as provided by the Malibu Art Barn.
Alvarez is hoping to attract more than just Pepperdine students, however.
We’ve tried to make it as all-inclusive as possible. It’s free and we’ve been encouraging community involvement as well… We would really like the greater community to be a part of this too Alvarez added.