SFSU dominates BART's "Project Doneway"

Farewell to BART paper tickets! On Saturday, Sept. 14,  BART hosted a fashion show featuring upcycled designs made up of its retired paper tickets.

Over 80 design students from four local schools were invited to showcase their creations at the Rockridge Station parking lot in Oakland, Calif. SFSU apparel design and merchandising students competed against the Oakland School of Arts, Academy of Art University and City College of San Francisco.

SFSU dominated the event, winning first, second, and third place in the college category and the Best Use of Paper Tickets award.

Lux Anne Vargas, an SFSU student who won Best Use of Paper Tickets and first place in the college category with her team — Hikari Nakatani, Lexi Ulloa, Keeley Ward and Sebastian Fogelmann — said they were not expecting to win.

"I started shaking when they called our name," said Vargas. "I was like, 'no way, no way.' It was a big surprise."

Nancy Martin, one of the professors who teaches Apparel Design and Merchandising 362: Draping at SFSU said her students demonstrated strong creativity throughout this project.

"What really became apparent was how they started to work in groups and feed off each other," said Martin. "I didn't have to do anything. There were so few restrictions on the project that they just really kind of ran with it. It was very exciting to see."

SFSU student Emma Lane Wolfe and her team — Madison Macneill, Sofia Cereghini, Grace Balelo and Dylan Gilson— won second place in the college category.

(L-R) Apparel design and merchandising students Emma Lane Wolfe and Madison MacNeill pose with their hand-made fashion piece featuring a top and a skirt made of old BART tickets inside Burk Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Dan Hernandez / Golden Gate Xpress)

“Honestly, I think it turned out better than we could’ve hoped for," said Wolfe. "I think we’re all really proud of it and she looks amazing.”

The woman who came up with the idea for a runway show hosted by the transit service is BART Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost.

"This was really about engaging youth, young adults and people who want to ride transit," said Trost. "It's also about bringing art to our stations and BART being a part of the community."