In April, we invited the three Fashion Faceoff judges to view the athleisure mini-collections created by contestants at Moore College of Art & Design. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing some of their reactions to the students’ work, though we won’t be revealing the winners of our contest until the August issue of the magazine.

First up is junior Ariana Rodriguez, who shares this explanation of her work: “My inspiration comes from a combination of two sources. Part of my inspiration is from Bavarian artist Nils-Udo. Nils-Udo is an environmental artist who creates his sculptures using natural objects. Nils-Udo values the beauty of nature and places an emphasis on creating art that is not harmful to the environment. These are values that I also hold, which is why he is inspirational to me. My additional motivation is Moroccan mosaics. This artwork is truly elegant and beautiful, which I wanted to capture. For my athleisure wear, I designed triangular appliqués of various sizes in natural hues such as blues and greens, reflecting a combination of the concepts of both Nils-Udo and Moroccan mosaics.”

Our judges appreciated Rodriguez’s consistent color scheme and the fresh silhouette of the menswear. Judge Conrad Booker says he loves the spongy mesh material chosen for the men’s jacket. The triangular pattern covering the Vantage Apparel jacket showed “pleasing proportions,” according to Pamela Ptak. Savannah DeVore also like the combination of embroidery and laser etching on the Vantage jacket. “It makes a bold statement and shows creativity,” she notes.

Ariana Rodriguez's male athleisure look at the Fashion Faceoff judging session.

Ariana's female athleisure look at the Fashion Faceoff judging session

Ariana's Vantage Apparel look at the Fashion Faceoff judging session.

A closeup of the triangle pattern on Ariana's male athleisure look.