If you've ever been to a convention or a fan gathering or a theme park or a special midnight movie, you know this fact: People wearing costumes inspired by the characters within the convention or park or movie.
This has happened for years, but fashion and design schools are taking note. There are whole sites built around character "inspiration" outfits -- check out Disney Bound, for starters -- and now the El Capitan is in on the fantasy-meets-fashion act.
A number of Otis Institute of Art and Design students have imagined sartorial get-ups through a monstery prism. Make that a "Monsters University" prism. The "original clothing collection" is an homage to Mike, Sulley, and Art, three stars of the Pixar Disney film. The collection is described as "street wear" with a big eye -- yeah, we feel like making a Mike quip there, but we probably don't need to -- toward extended wear.
So the materials used include offbeat items like sponges, mops, and re-purposed fabrics.
And here's the bigger twist, at least in the world of animated superstars: The characters' images will not be used in the design. Rather, look for Mike or Sulley or Art in the spirit of the clothing.
It had to have been an interesting challenge, but the Otis students didn't go it alone; Disney Consumer Products was a collaboration partner on the fashion line.
The eclectic clothing display is part of the larger program hosted by El Capitan during the "Monsters University." The film opens everywhere, and at the historic Hollywood theater, on Friday, June 21 and trundles on, Sulley-style, right through Aug. 7.
