“We’ve created a kind of laboratory for fashion at CCS. Here, students experiment, take risks, and develop their own design language,” said Aki Choklat, Linda Dresner Endowed Chair in Fashion Design, College for Creative Studies. “That same interdisciplinary approach extends across the College. New programs like our Fashion Business Management BA prepare students to meet the demands of a global, rapidly evolving industry. The Show reflects that process through collections that are highly individual, technically resolved, and grounded in innovation and making.”

The runway, designed in collaboration with CCS’s Interior Design department, transformed the Skywalk into a spatial installation. Suspended frames, projected light, and reflective materials defined the setting, while metallic surfaces and industrial sheeting caught and diffused light as models moved through the space.

“What better way to mark our 30th anniversary than by hosting the College for Creative Studies’ The Show, spotlighting the next generation of fashion,” said Nate Forbes, managing partner of The Forbes Company and member of the CCS Board of Trustees. “As an institution defined by vision, design, and excellence in craft, it’s only fitting that our signature skywalk becomes a runway for such a remarkable event.”

The presentation emphasized a rigorous, studio-based approach to design at CCS, where students develop work from concept through execution. The resulting collections were highly individual, technically resolved, and grounded in both innovation and making.

The Show continues to serve as a platform for emerging designers, connecting students with recruiters, press, and industry professionals. As Detroit’s creative ecosystem expands across design, fashion, and cultural production, the runway positions CCS as a key site of talent development.

About Somerset Collection
Somerset Collection is located on the corner of Big Beaver Road and Coolidge in Troy. A 700-foot-long glass-enclosed moving skywalk spans Big Beaver, connecting Somerset North with Somerset South. Anchored by Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Macy’s, Somerset Collection is home to more than 180 stores and restaurants. Information about center or store-specific events, as well as store hours, can be found at thesomersetcollection.com.

Based in Southfield, Michigan, The Forbes Company (theforbescompany.com) is a nationally recognized owner, developer, and manager of iconic regional shopping centers, recognized throughout their respective markets for their retail innovation, fashion leadership, distinctive architecture, and luxury appointments. In addition to Somerset Collection, these properties include: The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; The Mall at Millenia in Orlando; and Waterside Shops in Naples, Florida.

About the College for Creative Studies
The College for Creative Studies (CCS) is a nonprofit, private college accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and authorized by the Michigan Department of Education to grant Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. CCS, located in midtown Detroit, strives to provide students with the tools needed for successful careers in the dynamic and growing creative industries. CCS, named an Opportunity College by the Carnegie Classifications, fosters students’ resolve to pursue excellence, act ethically, engage their responsibilities as citizens and learn throughout their lives. With world-class faculty and unsurpassed facilities, students learn to be visual communicators who actively use art and design toward the betterment of society. The College is a major supplier of talent to numerous industries, including transportation, film and animation, advertising and communications, consumer electronics, athletic apparel, and many more. Its graduates are exhibiting artists and teachers, design problem solvers and innovators, as well as creative leaders in business.Selected Designer Collections
The collections in The Show 2026 explore identity, material, and narrative through diverse perspectives. Izzy Abohasira reimagines Western iconography, while Marwa Bissada examines love and division through the Berlin Wall. Hayden Bryce merges maritime and heritage craft, and Arturo Chaney develops a futuristic language shaped by technology and nature. Falina Jimerson builds a mythological world, while Maxwell Honeycutt reinterprets Mediterranean craft traditions. Griffin Mesner draws from Detroit’s sports history, and Sarah Nofar reflects on immigrant identity. Ryan Putnam explores the body through sport and sexuality, Veronica Wardowski channels Detroit’s industrial and musical legacy, and Emma Wisler examines performance and self-presentation.

Izzy Abohasira
Izzy Aboasira’s collection, No Country for Men, draws inspiration from spaghetti and neo-western films. It imagines a posse of outlaw women navigating the American West in the late nineteenth century. Films such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Django Unchained, and Tombstone influenced the work. The eight-piece collection translates cinematic storytelling into fashion, envisioning garments repurposed from men’s clothing taken in battle. It uses traditional menswear materials like leather, fur, heavy wool, and pinstripes. The designs have distressed finishes and frayed textures that evoke the harsh realities of frontier life. Through No Country for Men, Abouasira reinterprets Western iconography to explore rebellion, survival, and female autonomy.

Marwa Bissada
Marwa Bissada’s collection, Romeo and Juliet 1989, explores love, distance, and resilience. She uses the symbolic lens of the Berlin Wall, combining this with Shakespeare’s story of star-crossed lovers. Inspired by her father’s time in Berlin, while the wall was still standing, Bissada reimagines five scenes from Romeo and Juliet–each presented as a pair of menswear and womenswear looks, for a total of 10 garments. The collection features 1980s silhouettes and highlights the emotional divide of the wall. Light, romantic materials–jersey knits, sequins, chiffon, and silk–sit alongside her signature denim. Clean construction and a modern edge balance the softness of the fabrics, offering a contemporary interpretation of love enduring across borders.

Hayden Bryce
Hayden Bryce’s collection, Harborlands, draws from London’s canal boat culture and the northern Michigan landscape, reflecting the designer’s connection to both regions. This six-look collection merges British maritime influences with American heritage style. Apparel, footwear, and bags are constructed using traditional shoemaking and leatherworking techniques. Materials such as distressed canvas, braided leather, and rugged hardware establish the utilitarian character of life on the water. Sweaters, hand-knit by the Black Sheep Knitters Guild, further highlight the craft emphasis. Harborlands weaves together nautical references and heritage techniques, creating designs shaped by place, material, and personal history.

Arturo Cheney
Arturo Chaney’s collection, Subsystem, explores a personal vision of futurism, shaped by imagination, that focuses on the intersection of technology and nature. Influences include video games, science fiction films, and the futuristic design language of the 1990s. Drawing inspiration from Syd Mead and Robert Valli, Chaney creates fluid forms that evoke both biological structures and advanced technologies. The eight-piece collection features sculptural accessories shaped by extensive 3D modeling and CAD processes. Boots, bags, eyewear, and harnesses are crafted in leather, steel, and silver—mainly in white and gray. Through Subsystem, Chaney imagines a speculative future of safety, inclusivity, and new forms of identity.

Falina Jimerson
Falina Jimerson’s collection, TYTO, tells a story rooted in worldbuilding, imagining a society shaped by owls. This six-look collection introduces archetypal characters–a royal, a doctor, an assassin–each representing a role within a fictional revolution inspired by owl mythology and the narrative world of Owls of Ga’Hoole. Garments are constructed from natural materials such as wool, silk, and linen, with draping, pleating, embroidery, and feather elements referencing owl anatomy and movement. Airbrushed burn marks and distressed details suggest conflict and transformation, while elegant silhouettes unify the narrative-driven designs. Through TYTO, Dimerson explores how fashion can serve as a vehicle for symbolism, character, and speculative storytelling.

Maxwell Honeycutt
Maxwell Honeycutt’s collection, Sabiha Mati, draws on his Maltese and Greek cultural heritage to reinterpret Mediterranean craft traditions. The collection’s name combines the Maltese word for “beautiful” and the Mediterranean symbol of the evil eye, exploring themes of beauty and protection rooted in this lineage. Drawing on mosaic tiles, lace-making, and macramé, the six-look collection translates traditional techniques through modern processes, including 3D-printed fabric and laser cutting. Silk organza and chiffon dominate the construction, emphasizing texture, movement, and layered craftsmanship, while experimental textiles combine symbolic Mediterranean motifs with contemporary techniques.

Griffin Mesner
Griffin Mesner’s Mesner collection draws on his lifelong connection to hockey and family, translating the sport’s history into a series of leather accessories. Inspired by Detroit and attending Red Wings games with his parents, Mesner references vintage goalie masks, early protective gear, and archival hockey materials. The six-look collection features footwear and bags made primarily from leather, treated and distressed to evoke mid-century wear through oiling, tuck marks, and raw edges. Minimal hardware keeps the focus on material and craftsmanship. Mesner combines personal memory and sports heritage to create work rooted in tradition, durability, and familial bonds. As Mesner explores Detroit’s sporting legacy, another creative perspective draws inspiration from the city’s industrial and musical heritage.

Sarah Nofar
Sarah Nofar’s collection, 13643 Deluxe Market, is inspired by her Iraqi grandmother’s immigration to Detroit and the family market named in the title. Nofar imagines how her grandmother–who dreamed of designing fashion–might have created accessories for Detroit’s Seven Mile neighborhood in the late 1960s. The designer reinterprets family and cultural history through a contemporary design lens. This seven-look collection spotlights footwear and handbags primarily in leather. Techniques include draping, lacing, embossing, and beading, each inspired by Chaldean Catholic traditions. Through 13643 Deluxe Market, Nofar merges family narrative, Detroit history, and material experimentation to honor the resilience of immigrant women.

Ryan Putnam
Ryan Putnam’s collection, Round 2, explores the intersections of sexuality, confidence, and movement, using the visual language of contemporary sportswear. Inspirations include 1980s and 1990s athletic apparel, lingerie, and Nicolas Ghesquière’s Balenciaga. The collection, comprising six looks, emphasizes the body and its expression. Stretch materials–neoprene, Lycra, spandex–contour garments closely to the body’s form. Hardware elements such as grommets, ties, and cinch cords allow for adjustable openings that reshape the silhouette. Unconventional materials, even basketball netting, challenge accepted notions of luxury. Putnam reflects on his Midwestern upbringing and personal journey toward self-expression through these designs.

Veronica Wardowski
Veronica Wardowski’s collection, City of Firsts, draws on Detroit’s legacy of innovation, exploring the city’s industrial history alongside the rise of Detroit techno. The eight-piece collection references both the 1920s automotive boom and 1990s underground music culture, merging industrial materials with architectural silhouettes inspired by the skyline. Wardowski uses leather, secondhand faux fur, chains, and metal hardware, with modular construction that allows pieces to be reconfigured. Garments feature hand-cut metal fringe, pleated corsetry, and 3D-printed rave boot heels wrapped in duct tape, evoking assembly-line aesthetics and techno’s DIY ethos. Designed to create strong silhouettes that take up space, the collection centers women’s wear as a vehicle for presence and power, while modular elements and metal “fabric” introduce movement and sound, reflecting Detroit techno’s experimental approach to making.

Emma Wisler
Emma Wisler’s collection, Who Are You When You’re Not Performing?, explores the tension between authenticity and self-presentation. Exaggerated silhouettes and visual illusion heighten this theme. Ballet and research on Venetian carnival masks influence her approach, prompting a close examination of how people amplify certain aspects to hide vulnerability. The seven-look collection is dominated by dresses in a stark black-and-white palette. Structured pleats and sculptural forms range from minimal to dramatic. Garments use polyester dupioni, crinkle crepe satin, and felt bases with taffeta lining. As each look builds in volume, the final design expands on the collection’s ideas about performance and identity.