Fashion
The Dress Code Club showcases runway show with Houston fashion house
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Dress Code Club meets in the Student Center South Theater for an interview with Petra Stellam’s members, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
The Dress Code Club showcased the Houston-based fashion house Petra Stellam with a video screening and panel discussion of its second runway collection, A Romantic Hypothesis, Thursday, Feb. 27 at the Student Center Theatre.
The collection featured 35 looks and was followed by a guest panel discussion with designer, owner and co-creative director Luis Ruiz, known professionally as Lu, co-creative director Krusein Allen, known professionally as K and social media intern coordinator Madisyn Silva.
Students that attended were interested in the brand’s identity and intention behind certain stylistic choices in their designs and many valued the behind the scenes look into runway production, creative conception and direction the event provided.
“I have seen this show online and I really wanted to know the thought process behind the collection,” said English senior Eliza Viriegas. “What it was they envisioned, what they wanted to encapture and their overall ideas behind this collection.”
Others voiced their experience with the showing and shared what they were most excited about during the showing and guest panel speaking.
“I was most interested in seeing different forms of art and the inspiration behind them,” said communications sophomore Rodrigo Toledo. “Even though I’m not super familiar with fashion, and this being my first exposure to the brand, it was interesting to see how the designers and collaborators brought the collection to life.”
The panel reflected on their experiences with this second collection and discussed the brand’s future direction.
The collection was designed to push boundaries and redefine the perception of fashion by challenging traditional expectations through experimenting with materials and presentation, highlighting pattern paper in the first half of the show.
“We wanted to challenge perceptions,” Allen said. “Black garments aren’t just black, they can be made in different colors, fabrics or concepts.”
Petra Stellam’s intended direction with the collection was showcasing as many roles as possible in the conception, creation, execution and production of a collection and runway show, according to Ruiz.
He highlighted the often-overlooked role of the pattern maker, stating that every garment begins with a pattern and that the process of bringing a design to life is just as important as the final piece.
“We wanted to highlight the role of the pattern maker,” Ruiz said. “People wear clothes without always knowing where they come from, but everything starts with the pattern.”
Ruiz described the beauty of passing a pattern to an affiliate and seeing it come to life through the tailor’s hands, calling the moment of creation something beautiful.
The inspiration behind the creative direction of the runway show and its connection to the garments stemmed from themes of purity and creation. Allen expressed Petra Stellam’s perspective on using the runway as a tool to help convey the collection’s message.
“Pattern paper has a sense of purity and youthful innocence, while dirt holds endless potential,” Allen said. “You can plant fields in dirt, build structures and create worlds.”
Pattern paper looks were meant to resemble seeds, gradually growing into fully realized garments like flowers blooming into a bouquet, according to Allen.
The success of the Runway Show was a team effort as the brand strived for its collection to be better than the last, according to Ruiz.
The brand also offered a small glimpse into their upcoming collection, summarizing it into one phrase “What makes you fitted?”
