Booking it

Young Chang

In a world where almost nothing is as it seems, fashion designer

Hiroaki Ohya’s 2000 collection is more disguised than even fashion maven

Mario Fortuny’s twisted, tied and box-able apparel.

They’re books. Twenty-one volumes of dresses, shirts, pants and skirts

in fabrics ranging from denim to techno-fibers for a series called “The

Wizard of Jeanz.”

Volume 19 is a bright red dress made of non-rippable nylon with three

sections of poofy red ruffles. It folds up into its denim book jacket --

they’re all denim -- and you wear the cover on your back.

Volume 2 contains four different sleeveless shirts. You wear one and

leave the rest hanging on your back, along with the book covers of

course.

“If you get bored during the day, you can change tops,” laughed

Shirley Wilson, public relations representative for the Fashion Institute

of Design and Merchandising, standing in its Costa Mesa school. “The book

never comes off of the particular piece.”

The collection, which is a limited edition of 50 sets, opened at the

Bristol Street branch Thursday and will remain through Aug. 27.

“The college purchased this collection specifically so it can travel

to its four locations to inspire students in the realm of creativity,”

Wilson said.

The designs accommodate the modern, cramped-apartment lifestyle with

little closet space (all you need is a bookcase), a way of life that

doesn’t include ironing and a career that involves efficient traveling.

“We’re all living faster lives in smaller spaces,” Wilson said. “And

[Ohya] thinks that clothes should be comfortable.”

The covers can look like a large sailor’s collar on the upper back or

a random fashion statement flapping around near the waist.

What happens if you get a wrinkle? Ohya, a protege of Issey Miyake,

would suggest you wear it, Wilson said.

For the institute’s students, the collection is also a lesson in

innovation.

“While it’s not an idea that will make millions in retail, it’s done

in such good taste, and it’s so creative,” said Barbara Bundy, vice

president of education at the institute.

More than 4,000 students fill the school’s four campuses, scattered in

Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Some of them are

high school graduates, others are out of college. A small percentage of

the graduates go on to be fashion designers, others work in the film

costume industry, and many enter the field of product development, which

includes designing and marketing for existing labels.

Famed alumni include Randolph Duke, Karen Kane and David Cardona.

Marlena Rice, who graduated from the Costa Mesa school this year and

majored in fashion design, works as an assistant designer to Jonathan

Martin in Los Angeles.

“This is exactly what I want to be doing now,” said the 22-year-old.

Rice was always interested in designing, but doubted the career course

at times because it seemed too good to be true.

“I was a little wary on whether I wanted to make my hobby my job,” she

said. “I just love my hobby so much, how could I do it as a job? And if I

do it as a job, am I going to still love it? Finally I just went for it.”

Ohya’s design concepts, some of which have contained clothes in Cup

O’Noodle-style pots, confirm that a job in fashion can and should be fun.

“He just exudes creativity,” Bundy said. “But in simplistic terms.

Everything doesn’t have to be shot in the fanny with rhinestones.”

Wilson agreed.

“This collection definitely encourages anyone to think out of the

box,” she said.

FYI

WHAT: Ohya’s “The Wizard of Jeanz”

WHEN: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday through Aug. 27

WHERE: The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, 3420 S.

Bristol St., fourth floor, Costa Mesa

COST: Free

CALL: (714) 565-2800