It’s student fashion show season right now in the Bay Area, with many up and coming local design students showcasing their collections. These innovative fashion shows can often offer us a sneak peek into the future of fashion.Last weekend, I stopped by the Supperclub in San Francisco to see the Inspired Innovation Signature Collections fashion show from UC Davis, held on Sunday, May 6, 2012. This student runway show was created by the Fashion & Design Society, the leading outlet for creative fashion designers at UC Davis to get exposure to local and regional audiences. As a student group, they produce a show at the UC Davis Picnic Day and one in San Francisco every year.
Featuring 19 unique designer collections on the runway, students expressed their individual design perspectives based on different and varied themes. Many designers were inspired by nature and incorporated natural fibers, dyes and sustainability into their collections. Others looked to cultural heritage for inspiration, or referenced anything from forests, the galaxy, wind, plastic, the ocean and the sky. One designer even used typography as the theme for her collection of dresses.
With each designer showcasing a unique point of view, no two collections were alike in terms of colors, silhouettes or themes. Here are some of the highlights from the show:

Urban Gardener by Courtney Siperstein-Cook
Using hemp as a dominant fiber, this playful & sustainable collection was inspired by city gardens and is a study of the nature of overalls. As Courtney Siperstein-Cook says “With overalls as my inspiration and hemp fabric and natural dyes in my tool bag, I aimed to create a playfully elegant take on our modern gardeners ‘roughing it’ in the city. My collection is an exploration into ways of being sustainable; caring for the planet through our design choices, gardening creatively, and having fun all the while.”