Articles
HCC Fashion Design student reflects on winning at Fashion Fusion design competition
By Donald Sparks, HCC Central Communications Director
Feb 25, 2025
HCC Fashion Design student Kuteka Hill poses with the model wearing her garment Dragon Sky. Hill earned first place in the Sustainability & Unconventional category and Best of Show during the Fashion Fusion runway show hosted by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, held Jan. 30, 2025. HCC Courtesy Photo.
Leading up to the Fashion Fusion competition, hosted by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Kuteka Hill designed her garment entry with the sole intent of winning the Sustainability & Unconventional category. At the end of the show, the Houston Community College Fashion Design student captured first place for that category and to her surprise – Best of Show.
During the ninth edition of the annual fashion competition held Jan. 30, 2025, at the MFAH, Hill and several HCC Fashion Design students showcased unique garments they created addressing the theme, Arts of Asia.
“I went in wanting to win the Sustainability & Unconventional category and I really pushed myself to make a statement to be noticed,” Hill said. “The Best in Show was a shocker. I was really surprised, like really surprised.”
The inspiration behind her winning garment “Dragon Fly” was artist Ai Weiwei’s piece Dragon Reflection, in which Hill’s dress conveyed the aerial view of a dragon flying above the sky and clouds. A native Houstonian majoring in multidisciplinary art, she decided to enroll at HCC because she wanted to learn the technical aspects of fashion
“I started out self-taught,” Hill said. “I feel that if you are really serious about something, you should learn as much as you can to be successful at it.”
Coming from a family of creatives, Hill was raised in the home of a fashion designer.
“My mother was my first role model and although I disliked cutting out patterns and going to the fabric store at a young age, I am glad that I did it has shaped my destiny,” she said.
Her creativity has been refined and reimagined by her faculty professors of the HCC Fashion Design program, particularly Vi Hua and Alexander Chapman. She admitted her destiny couldn't have been written any better, as the faculty have pushed her from beginning to end on projects.
“I never know what to expect from the students, and that’s one of the most exciting aspects of this process,” Hua said. “We make it a point not to limit their creativity; in fact, we encourage them to design beyond what’s marketable.”
As an aspiring African American fashion designer, Hill has had to laugh off when people were surprised that she’s Black. She also recognizes that the fashion industry is hard for anyone, but she must work extra hard to be noticed.
“In the industry, I normally gravitate towards designers that are not afraid to be themselves and use art as a design approach,” Hill said. “I want my mark to be that I was not afraid to listen to my own voice, that I believed in my vision and created on that alone.”
With two fashion design awards now part of her portfolio, she is looking towards her future after graduating HCC.
“I would like to continue taking classes at Glassel School of Art and learning more about the sculpture process and clay,” Hill said. “I wanted to win [Fashion Fusion] so I could earn a scholarship to take more classes. I think it would be a vital part of what I would like to create and convey to the world.”