Profile: Jason Evege

UC Senior Jason Evege sets the fashion for others to follow.

Jason, 24, and a graduate of Ashland High School in Ashland, Ohio, has traveled to Europe and Asia as a college student, representing the United States in prestigious design competitions.

You can next see his work -- and that of about 100 other fashion design students -- during UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning fashion show at 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 9, at the Albert B. Sabin Convention Center. Click here for more details on the fashion show.

In December 1998, Evege's handiwork was part of a Paris runway show judged by professional designers like Christian Lacroix, Paco Rabanne, Kenzo and Pierre Cardin as well as fashion journalists, all part of the international Young Fashion Designers Competition. For more on his design for this competition, go to http://www.uc.edu/info-services/clock.htm.

In November 1999, Jason again represented the U.S. this time in the World Fashion Contest in Gifu, Japan. He was selected as one of 50 finalists out of more than 9,000 students and professional entries worldwide. Go to http://www.uc.edu/info-services/evege.htm to read more on this.

"The best part of these competitions, for me, is the travel. Many influential fashion designers are working in Japan and France...And it's great for me just to see a different part of the world, to see different ways of life and points of view," he said.

Jason also points to UC's cooperative education program as giving him a valuable hand up. UC founded the practice of cooperative education in 1906, and the program requires certain majors (it is an option for others) to alternate their academic quarters with professional work experience. Because of co-op, Jason was able to work as a men's activewear designer and a boyswear designer in New York City. He also spent a summer in Italy serving as a costume designer for opera productions.

Interestingly, Jason didn't start out as a fashion design student at UC. He came to study bass at UC's internationally renowned College-Conservatory of Music; however, he eventually switched to fashion as a more creative outlet for him. "I've always loved fashion. For me, I wasn't at my innovative best in music. I feel I'm more progressive in my fashion output. It's a complicated challenge to make a fabric and cut it into a shape you want. It's like physics, having to do with weight, shape and proportion...I get the same thrill at this as being a rock star," he explained.