College Designers Get Big Chance at Atlantic City, New Jersey Fashion Week

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Every hair has to be in place, every color perfectly matched. More than 200 models at the Showboat Atlantic City will be showing off the work of 17 students from eight colleges nearby. This is their big chance to be discovered as fashion designers.

"We sort of did a round-robin where we brought all the students in, they had two minutes to select the fabric that they wanted," explained Lamont Bowling, the executive producer of Atlantic City Fashion Week.

That was the beginning of December. The fabrics were donated from a company that makes chairs.

"I saw that it looked very tribal so I kind of researched African prints and things like that. Silhouettes and stuff," said Derrell Monack, one of the designers from North Philadelphia.

Monack's work, along with 16 other of his peers, will be showcased Thursday, on the first night of Atlantic City Fashion Week. It's a three-day show featuring designers and models from all over the world. Thursday's competition is exclusive to college students.

"Sometimes when you talk about fashion you think I have to be in Paris, I have to be in New York, I have to be in Milan, and the only difference between our show and their show is geography," said Bowling.

This show is a dream come true with Aston Ragsdale of Pleasantville, New Jersey.

"It's the first thing I'm doing publicly. Basically everything I do with fashion is more with my school, so being able to show other people out there is good to me and I feel like it could really get my name out," said Ragsdale.

Thursday's college competition starts at 7 pm. Friday's show will feature Ready to Wear and Children's Designers and Saturday will be the Couture and Avant-Garde creations. Tickets can be purchased on Atlantic City Fashion Week's website and start at $60.