Fashion Design

Our Grads

John Mendrea

When the American Heart Association decided to put together a fashion show for their annual fundraiser, John Mendrea was there to pull it all together.

John, a VMCAD Fashion Design graduate, volunteered to put together 14 different pieces for the Go Red for Women fundraiser. He collaborated with current students, community colleagues and fellow alumni to make it all happen. John and his team did everything from conceptualizing the gowns to making the pieces and accessorizing them to figuring out the order of presentation during the fashion show itself.

“I enjoy making people happy through my artistic expression,” says John. “And I realized at VMCAD that people are watching. People in the school and people in the community are interested in what’s going on here."

Click John’s photo to watch a video about his story.

"I cannot express how grateful I am for my education at VMCAD. I now have the confidence to take on clients and create real couture pieces thanks to the specific fashion design training I received at VMCAD.” 

John currently designs custom garments for individual clients in Northeast Ohio. He is working towards starting up a small design label in the near future.

Rosi Zingalis

Rosi Zingalis made the jump from Midwest to Big City! After she graduated from Virginia Marti College, her first job was with the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival sewing costumes for the actors.

Rosi then decided to follow her passion and move to New York City! Today Rosi’s expertise is in sewing costumes and she’s created wardrobes for "Grease" on Broadway, for the TV show "You’re the One That I Want" and for the feature film "Evening" starring Meryl Streep.

"My first love was always clothing. I designed clothes for my dolls growing up," Rosi says. But Costume design opened an entire world for her, the world of Opera, Dance, Film and Stage.
"Ask yourself what road you want to go down," she says. "If you love fashion and design, then Virginia Marti is for you!"