Saugerties High School 2022 graduate Starla Bollé, who attended the Ulster BOCES Fashion Design & Merchandising (FDM) program, received the honor of having a photo of her fantasy — and nature-inspired outfit — featured on the back cover of the program’s culminating publication, known as a “lookbook.” Explaining her work, the young fashion designer wrote, “I used iridescent and metallic fabrics to give the collection a sense of otherworldliness.”
Bollé, an accomplished director, producer, writer, and actor who has had her movies featured at the Woodstock Film Festival, says that her participation in the FDM program as well as in the Woodstock Film Festival Youth Film Lab opened her eyes to a possible career path in the film costume design industry. “I kind of knew how to sew, but [in FDM] I learned technical sewing skills, pattern-making and blocking,” she explained. “And I learned a lot about trend cycles, and the process a garment goes through from creation to actual manufacturing to the showroom and [distribution].”
Having the opportunity to model her creations on the back cover is a tribute to her talent, since the front and back covers of books are prime real estate. She even contributed a short story titled “Into the Deep” to accompany the photos of her work found inside the lookbook. Bollé, who graduated from Saugerties High School early, will be attending Bard College this fall, where she plans to major in filmmaking. She also hopes to share her passion for fashion design by starting a sewing club on campus.
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