This is not your average fashion show, This shows the head-to-toe artistry of our students who are pushing the boundary of their crafts.
Donovan Sinthasomphone certainly knows how to make an exit.
For this final project as a student in Milwaukee Area Technical College’s Barber program, he helped create a stunning, show-stopping, award-winning vision.
He and four other MATC students — two in the Cosmetology program, one in the Aesthetician program and another in Nail Technology program, joined forces to shape and form the first-place entry at a year-end fashion show on Thursday, May 21, at MATC’s Downtown Milwaukee Campus.
The show, called “Styles Through the Decades: Fashion, Hair, Beauty, and Nails Through the Years,” featured models wearing fashions and sporting makeup and hair styles from the past eight decades, including the roaring 1920s, the swinging 1960s and the grunge 1990s.
Sinthasomphone’s team was tasked with devising a look from the past ten years, between 2016 and 2026. Their model, Jaelyn Crawley, wore a tight black catsuit, white furry leggings, white high-heeled boots and a long, white feathered coat.
“The last 10 years have been a decade of high intensity, and we wanted to show that,” Sinthasomphone said. “We wanted to have the shiniest, sharpest looking clothes, hair and nails. We knew we would be the last model on the runway, and we wanted to end things with a bang. We wanted to steal the show.”
The team, which also included Amahirany Saucedo, Linda Xiong, Kimberley Reyes-Oquendo and Ruby Neihous, worked on the look for about two months under the mentorship of instructor Tamara Purnell.
“We communicated very well with each other right from the start,” Sinthasomphone said. “I think great minds think alike.”
The show was hosted by Milwaukee radio personality Bailey Coleman, and the entries were judged by Melaine Zarth, the owner of Originails; Lartrece Hendrickson, from Salon Lavish; Duke Carter from WISN Channel 12; Marquise McMillian, an alum of the college’s Barber program; and Justin Klis, associate dean of MATC’s Protective Services programs.
Students, friends, family, instructors and Dr. Anthony Cruz, MATC’s president, watched Thursday’s show, which featured pulsating strobe lights and thumping music.
“This is not your average fashion show,” said Janell Jones, associate dean of the college’s Community and Human Services Academic and Career Pathway. “This shows the head-to-toe artistry of our students who are pushing the boundary of their crafts.”
Along with the most recent decade, the other entries were a 1920s flapper wearing a green and gold slip dress, a 1950s Marilyn Monroe look-alike in a flirty white dress, a 1960s swinger wearing a miniskirt and white go-go boots, a 1970s soul sister in a bejeweled jumpsuit who roller-skated around the room, a 1980s breakdancer wearing neon green, pink and orange athletic wear, a 1990s grunger in a denim skirt, fishnet stockings and tall, black buckled boots, and 2000s living Bratz doll.
In the award voting, the swinging 1960s took third place and the 1970s were second.
Sinthasomphone received his degree May 16 at the college’s 2026 Spring Commencement at Fiserv Forum. He’s preparing to take the state barber exam and someday plans to open his own business.
“Ideally, I want to work on cars on one side, doing wrappings and detailing, and have a barber business on the other side,” he said. “It would be great to do both.”
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About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 35,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 45 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
