Livia Rose Overton is a Junior at Columbia College Chicago in the Fashion Design BFA program.
She is currently working as a student aid for Pattern Making II and interns with two local Chicago businesses, Studio H and Maria Pinto. Her biggest dream is to one day open a fashion house in Paris specializing in women’s high-end ready-to-wear.
In her free time she enjoys reading, writing lyrics and poetry, and learning about life sciences and history.
Kelsey Gibson, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, made the bold decision to transfer to Columbia College Chicago to immerse herself in a more dynamic fashion environment and expand her creative horizons. Chicago’s rich design culture has transformed her approach to fashion, offering perspectives she couldn’t have gained in her hometown. As she navigates her final…
Sydney McCormack is a recent graduate from Columbia College of Chicago, with a degree in Fashion Design, a concentration in Product Development, and minors in Women’s Studies and Sustainability. Her designs have always been led by sustainability, even in her education, she always tried challenging herself with recycling, repurposing, and zero waste. These are heavily…
Nico Schmalz is a 19-year-old interdisciplinary Artist From Boston, Massachusetts. Focusing on creating an ever-changing style inspired by experimentation through medium, theme, and form. Some common themes his works draw from are self-reflection, addiction, mental health, and seeing the unseen. Nico is currently in his first year at The Art Institute of Chicago studying to…
César Benavente Oblitas is a designer and systems thinker working across fashion, sculpture, and material research. Rooted in sustainability and cultural memory, their practice reimagines garments as folded messages—structures sent with the intention to be activated. Through collapsible flat-pack constructions, Oblitas challenges traditional hierarchies of authorship, visibility, and value. Born in Puno, Peru, and based…
YOYO Zheng is a fashion designer dedicated to exploring the intersection of self-identity, perception, and emotional connection through clothing. YOYO approaches fashion as more than just wearable art—it is a personal habitat, a medium for storytelling, and a bridge between the internal and external world. Inspired by existential themes and the philosophy of perception, YOYO’s…
Rey Barrientes is a fashion designer and SAIC graduate based in Chicago. Coming from a diverse background, Rey’s work focuses on the importance of intersectionality and its lived experiences through the reinvention of traditional utilitarian garments into elegant forms that break down traditional boundaries between gender, class, and culture. The heart of their practice stems…
