Two students of Arizona State University’s fashion program, along with a former student of the school are part of Arizona Fashion Week to share their love for art, technology and creation. Most of their work is award-winning with many of their designs being posed on a national level–with ASU as the beginning of their journey.
Giovanna Manzo
Recipient of the Arizona Fashion Week’s Student Scholarship, Manzo is a fashion student in her second year at ASU. She has featured her work in student fashion shows, but this is her first time being a part of Arizona Fashion Week. As a student, it’s especially special to be chosen from dozens of student applicants for the scholarship.
“It was so terrifying,” said Manzo. “Super fun, super scary, and it was a month ago.”
But Manzo’s experience long proceeds her time at ASU. She began sewing as a child and started crocheting after receiving treatment for an illness in high school. She likes that it can be done on the go and how easy it is to source pieces from thrifting or recycled parts.
For her newest collections, she found inspiration from plant life, particularly lichen, a hybrid colony of algae, fungi and yeast that is usually found on tree bark in wet climates. She looks forward to showing off her work on Nov. 17, at the Abbey on Monroe in downtown Phoenix.
Kito
Going only by his first name, Kito, the architecture and fashion student at ASU works with his sister Xaria, whose designs have been featured on Travis Scott, North West, and others in the rap and music scene. The siblings are both self-starters as Kito began his fashion journey after making hoodies for a book club he was a part of while studying in Panama. But in his time abroad he found inspiration from construction workers and utilitarian fashions.
He explains that this collection is on theme while presenting something new. “Very simple and avant-garde,” said Kito. “We thought of it more as art than fashion.”
He also says that the five stages of grief inspired this collection. He calls it an “exploration” of grief.
“I was inspired by this idea of clothing coming into your life and being temporary,” he said. He explained that clothes are often in circulation in many lives. He said that each look takes after each stage of grief with motifs of freedom, darkness and sadness. But the collection is still being finalized.
“We’ve been working on this collection and it almost feels like war,” he said after sharing that his sister Xaria would spend late nights completing the collection while he attended press events.
Kito said, “I come here and it feels like going from the Hunger Games to the Capitol.”
The City of K runway show will be on Nov. 16 at the W Hotel in Scottsdale. He asks that guests wear white and black.
Left to right: Shelton Beascochea, Uzoma Ndule, Giovonna Manzo
Shelton Beascochea
Not a fashion designer, Beascochea is a cryptocurrency investor and educator. Spending time at ASU, he was encouraged by a computer science professor to dive deeper into his work with cryptocurrency and blockchain development.
“I decided to dive in headfirst and pursue it,” he said. Beascochea and others across the country have been inspired by the work of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to explore changes in technology. However, most of his work is education and networking.
While not common, Beascochea explained that there is a space for blockchain technology in almost every industry, including fashion. He cited LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton, putting microchips in bags to authenticate items in addition to a collectible online page.
Beascochea is hopeful that the future will make room for this technology.
“I think in the future it will be another way we interact with the brands that we use on a daily basis,” he said.
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