Esperanza Botello
Second Year
Business Administration Major
Esperanza Botello, winner of this year’s fashion show, first began experimenting with designing when her grandmother bought her very own first sewing machine at 12 years old. Knowing that UC Irvine does not offer courses in fashion design, she immediately began searching for a club on campus where she could meet people who shared her interest in fashion. As a freshman, she competed in last years show but didn’t win. This year Botello’s line entitled "Hope Bottle" earned her a $3,000 scholarship to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.
Botello took a different approach from most designers when creating her line, she says “I know there is a certain process of how designers do it. They draw their sketches, they get their fabric, they do their designs. I didn't have time to go in that order.”
Since she has school work and her other commitments, Botello knew she would only have a limited amount of time to dedicate to her design process. On the only weekend she had free in April, she took a trip to LA’s fashion district and selected fabric that would be easy for her to work with and that had texture, like tool and lace.
Once all her fabrics were selected she began to plan out how her collection would look. She looks back on her work and remembers, “I laid them out and was like, what could I make out of this?” She selected one floral print fabric as the inspiration for the collection which she wore as a skirt the day of the show. After processing her sketches, she believes “ I chose that fabric and I was like this is what we’re going to go off. This color palette and this theme.”
One month before the show, Botello created all four of the outfits in her line. She spent around five hours total on each piece creating the base and foundation. Then, she ending up taking another three hours per outfit working on the details like the straps, hemlines, and fittings for each model.
Once her collection was complete, she realized the style of her work reflected her upbringing. “ All my roommates told me ‘your pieces look like they could be from the 50’s or 60’s.’ and I would say no they’re modern.” It wasn't until she saw her collection come together that she noticed the classic look of her clothing. Botello believes that since she was raised by her grandparents, she tends to gravitate towards more traditional styles.
Botello never entered this years competition thinking she would win. She saw it more as an opportunity to practice her skills and meet other aspiring designers. Through this opportunity she found that “I just go at it because this is what I like to do no matter how a judge judges me on my pieces. It doesn't matter if I'm last place. I’m still proud of my work.”
She dreams of one day working in fashion professionally. For now, Botello plans to continue to design and hopes to be able to eventually use that scholarship to FIDM to learn the proper techniques of design.
Profile By: Neena Pesqueda