Isabel Toledo, one of the great women-friendly designers in the industry, will be in the classroom at L.A.’s Otis College of Art and Design to work with student designers on a special fashion project.

The mentorship program at Otis is one of the most impressive — chair Rosemary Brantley is great at talking high-pro folks (including Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, Monique Lhuillier, Trina Turk, Vera Wang, Todd Oldham, Bob Mackie, John Varvatos, Diane von Furstenberg, Jeremy Scott and Rick Owens) into the classroom.

Designers work with a small team of juniors and senior who then work through the design process: researching, sketching, draping, drafting and constructing a final garment.  So far, Toledo has given 15 members of the Otis Fashion senior class the following design direction: “Design seasonless, sustainable day-to-evening wear to be worn 20 years from now. Create five easy modern pieces that are interchangeable and can go from functional day to an evening function.  One of the pieces must play a dual role, i.e. vest to bag, bag to jacket, jacket to toolbelt. Reuse, recycle, repurpose, and upcycle in creating sophisticated looks for the future.”

The most impressive work by the student designers will be presented on the runway on May 8, 2010 at Otis College of Art and Design’s annual scholarship fundraising gala in Beverly Hills.

Photo: Toledo in the Otis classroom.