The West Valley College campus was buzzing all day, but around 6:30p, the atmosphere shifted. DJ John Beaver’s upbeat EDM set boomed across the valley, guiding folks from the parking lots into the Cilker School of Art and Design Grad EXPO.
Outside, food trucks lined the Northwalk. Near the entrance, 2026 San Jose Creative Ambassador Jorge “J.Duh” Camacho was pulled up in his modified U-Haul Pop-Up Box. Built as a mobile art gallery, it was created to make art viewing more accessible for and by the community. This evening’s exhibition featured a mix of art. It included works from artists in issue 18.3 “Perform,” such as a community art piece by Crossthread SJ, and hardcore show photos shot by Sherrise Sexton (on loan from 365—a visual archive of Bay Area hardcore that was on view at Vago Super). Paintings by Hargun M. Mann and welded metal sculptures by Alana Lin were also displayed.
Moving inside, Content Magazine supporters gathered for an intimate VIP reception headlined by Los Panaderos, whose performance beckoned guests to the Cilker Courtyard for food, drinks, and dancing.
As the fashion show approached, folks started making their way across campus. They took in the full spread of what was happening—from student art sales and gallery exhibitions to the live performances in the Cilker Lounge. Before hitting the grass, guests could catch Lindsey “HELLA Famous” Leong selling books on revolutionary ideology. They could also tap in with the Crossthread SJ crew. The group held it down for the community by pairing show promo with vital harm-reduction support like contraceptives and test strips. While critical theory and fentanyl test strips probably weren’t on the official college tour brochure—and may have surprised a few guests between wine refills—activations that merge and showcase community perspectives across contexts are exactly the point of Content Pick-Up Parties.
By 8p, all paths converged on the runway, the crown jewel of the night. This event celebrated the 5th year of the Cilker graduate showcase and partnership. This year’s Annual Graduating Fashion Design Student Fashion Show displayed elite growth and experimentation. For nearly an hour, models strutted the catwalk in student-designed garments that pushed boundaries. They mixed materials from latex to lace, and patterns from plaid to polka dot. The sheer diversity of the collections proved that the future of South Bay fashion is unapologetically bold.
The energy didn’t drop when the runway cleared. Immediately after, Silk Road took the stage. Fronted by sisters Alana (featured in the current Issue 18.3) and Amara Lin (featured in Spring 2024’s Issue 16.2), Silk Road rocked a heavy set of covers and originals to a lawn of listeners, leaving the audience wondering why the college doesn’t host a regular concert series on that grass.
Even as the performances wound down, the chairs were being folded, and the food trucks pulled away, guests could be seen mingling and chatting. While the EXPO has grown massively over the last five years, the core of this collaboration between Content Magazine and West Valley College remains unchanged: it is a definitive showcase of what happens when higher education, local arts, and authentic community dial into the same frequency.
Missed out on the action? Grab your copy of Issue 18.3 “Perform” and mark your calendars for our Issue 18.4 “Profiles” Pick-Up Party on Thursday, August 27, where we will bid a fond farewell to the founder and Cultivator of Content Magazine, Daniel Garcia, as he embarks on retirement.
From the blended Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco architecture of the historic Hotel de Anza to the bustling sounds of designers scrambling to get their looks on point, the first-ever San Jose Day Fashion Showcase was a spectacle to remember.
People move to San Francisco to be free. People move to San Jose to be innovative. No matter where you land, fashion in the Bay has always been led by personal style and the communities that live here. In planning this fashion showcase, graphic designer, Muralist, and co-director of San José Day, Jorge “J.Duh” Camacho, wanted to bring a fresh element to this annual event.
J.Duh’s industry connections in San Francisco gave him the sense that the city was disconnected from other parts of the Bay Area, but also inspired him. For San José Day, he imagined a collaboration among fashion designers from across the South Bay and beyond. The final showcase featured San Francisco Fashion Designer Nolan Kenji, San Jose Fashion Designers Henry Manolis, Ramona Rebel, SewKali, and Coldwater Collective, alongside Students from the West Valley College Cilker School of Art and Design. Through creative collaboration, J.Duh brought designers together to share ideas, coordinate, and create a rhythmic showcase for fashion lovers.
The event started with a photo walk led by San Jose Shooters, beginning at Foto Express and ending at the De Anza Hotel. The evening moved into a VIP cocktail hour that got attendees into the spirit for a spectacular show. For the main event, emcee Josue Ramirez, owner of the local vintage shop and gallery space Vago Super, kicked off the show, stating, “The real gems are by and for the people of San Jose.” Ramirez led the audience through the show, while rounds of applause and cheering filled the Hotel courtyard. The West Valley College fashion design students received a particular buzz of excitement before and after the runway show. Following the showcase was a panel discussion with Ryan Mante and Marisela Cristina Gonzales Ginestra. The conversation, moderated by Marisela, focused on designers’ views of fashion’s impact on the community.
Marisela Cristina Gonzales Ginestra, who was born and raised in San Jose, is currently a Denim Designer at Levi Strauss and co-curator at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles. In a side conversation outside the panel, she shared what it was like as an aspiring fashionista growing up in San Jose. She agreed that San Jose has two extremes–on one end, there can be scrutiny toward individuals who express their originality and personal style, where those who dress out of the norm may receive looks and judgmental comments; on the other end, there is a desire to turn each look into a statement, where creative expression is fueled by that same tension.
Henry Manolis
Designer, Henry Manolis responded to the prompt by saying, “San Jose is a boiling pot of diversity, and because of that, fashion really works in bringing people together and sharing ideas and perspectives.” His recent collection is inspired by his latest life stage as a new father.
“Clothes can be more than materialistic; they tell stories.” -Brian Nemedez.
Coldwater, a fashion collective based in San Jose’s Japantown, was founded by three brothers who believed they could share their story through a brand. The collection they presented was inspired by their childhood experiences, going fishing with their dad. Content Magazine covered their story back in 2024, sharing the magic that runs through Coldwater’s veins.
Coldwater was originally featured in Content Magazine’s Fall 2024 issue 16.4, “Perform”
Local San Jose fashion designer Ramona Rebel runs the brand Rebel Notions and is inspired by Cultura. Deeply rooted in Chicanx Lowrider culture, Rebel’s attitude towards design is grounded in self-expression.
Cilker School of Art and Design student Jayssielisa is currently completing her final semester at West Valley Community College in Saratoga. She shared that students in their last semester taking Design II: Line Development are tasked with creating three looks for West Valley’s annual graduation fashion show, now in its fifth year. Jayssielisa viewed the San Jose Day showcase as a great opportunity, even encouraging other design students to join. Other West Valley Designers included Ellie Vogel, Clyde Elloso, Sage Jean, Christian Cordero, and Angelica Ochoa.
Clyde Elloso was originally featured in Content Magazine’s summer 2025 issue 17.3, “Perform.”
There is so much beauty in San Jose, a place where you can be different, show up in your own way, and, hopefully, inspire others to do the same. Movements like this require people to organize and support each other.
So, what does San Jose fashion look like? It looks like claiming space, sharing stories, and showing up for one another. It looks like the brilliance of the people who reside here, who push the envelope and inspire others to expand their minds through self-expression.
Image 1: Jayssielisa | West Valley College, Cilker School of Art and Design
In high school, ballet dancer Naomi Thien Kim Le’s father, Chinh Le, told her something pivotal: “If you can’t live without it, don’t live without it.” She took his words to heart.
Naomi has now danced professionally with San Jose’s New Ballet Company since 2020. At 23, she feels she still has more to accomplish. “Every year, there’s a new side of myself that unlocks into ballet. I’m achieving more and more despite getting older.”
Chinh Le instructs by example. Both he and Naomi’s mother, Anatasia, are from Vietnam and immigrated to the US in 1980. Their journeys to America, however, were quite different. “In short, she came on the airplane, I came on the boat,” Chinh explains. He attempted to leave Vietnam multiple times before he was successful. The only thing he took with him was his violin. Without a standard American education or fluency in English, he struggled to find musical education opportunities. Despite this, he was determined to become a professional musician. He eventually earned a scholarship at Indiana University. He’s now a violin teacher and a violinist with the San Jose Symphony, which accompanies New Ballet productions.
Chinh passed his passion for music and the arts on to his children. Naomi and her siblings all play instruments and dance with New Ballet. The family even formed a string quartet during the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We need the normal things to sustain a life. But art gives people a reason to live,” Naomi says. Her mother echoed this importance in her approach to parenting. “What we were taught as [children] is that art is one of the rare gifts that one can possess. We want our children to explore their gifts.”
Naomi is grateful for her family’s support of her ballet career. “They always made sure I could have food on the table, no matter what,” she remembers, “so that I could comfortably choose and put a strong foot forward with what I wanted to do with my life.” Her connection with her heritage is strong. “My work ethic is from my family and my Vietnamese culture,” she explains. “The food that I eat to have the energy to go throughout my day, to dance, and to teach is really influenced by my culture.”
“Every year, there’s a new side of myself that unlocks into ballet. I’m achieving more and more despite getting older.”
Naomi originally began studying ballet at five years old to help with her coordination. Her parents homeschooled Naomi and her siblings and had them try out many different physical activities. Naomi began dancing as a student with New Ballet’s founder, artistic director, and executive director Dalia Rawson. She’s mentored Naomi’s development from a young student to a professional dancer. Naomi always took her classes seriously, but it took time for her to hone her skills as a true performer. “She was almost a little introverted,” Rawson remembers. “She has been a series of little revelations over the years.” When Naomi was 10, Rawson told her she had the discipline and the body to dance at a higher level. She’s now danced in hundreds of professional New Ballet shows.
Naomi’s approach to ballet is a joyful one. “It’s a human experience. I want to get into that kind of carnal state where, truly, I’m dancing because I’m enjoying life, I’m enjoying what I do,” she explains. “I don’t want to spend my career in dancing stressed all the time.” This approach runs parallel to Rawson’s mission with New Ballet, which prioritizes dancers’ mental health.
Naomi herself majored in psychology at Santa Clara State University. She attributes this partially to her mother, who got her master’s in psychology after working as a pharmacist. She says that New Ballet’s emphasis on mental health was also an influence on her decision. “I think I was just surrounded by a lot of people who cared about other people’s well-being and success, and I just wanted to carry that on.”
According to Rawson, there are two things a ballet dancer needs to elevate their practice: a solid control of classical technique and the ability to embody different roles with that technique. Naomi has both. “She brings moments out of choreography that I’ve seen her dance many, many times,” Rawson shares. “She is on the path to becoming San Jose’s first home-grown, home-trained, and hometeam ‘Ballerina.’ ” “Ballerina” as a title has a specific meaning within the dancing world. The dancer needs to have had at least three main ballerina roles, and one of them must be Giselle, which New Ballet will be doing a production of in 2025. Naomi has already danced main roles in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. “It’s like Hamlet for a female ballet dancer,” Rawson explains. “There’s a very good chance that she will dance that role.”
On a wet November evening, some of the South Bay’s creative energy settled downtown at Open San José to celebrate the release of Content Magazine Issue 18.1, “Discover.” It was a gathering of artists, creatives, musicians, and supporters who came together to engage with one another and the creatives featured in the issue. The mood was immediately set by DJ Arturo Garces, whose selections carried throughout the venue. Friends from Californians for the Arts had just wrapped a conference at the same location and seamlessly folded into the scene.
Locals and visitors alike enjoyed beer and wine served by Filco Events. Chef Alex Whiteman and his team from Goodtime Bar elevated the experience with refined bites—from a delicate persimmon salad to their classic deviled eggs.
That hallway connecting resident galleries, Chopsticks Alley Art and Works/SJ, and the performance studio was turned into a pop-up exhibition presented by Works/San José. The one-night-only showcase featured eight visual artists from the issue, including Hadi Aghaee, Tachiya Bryant, Sarah Bianco, John Contreras, Low Le, Betty Proper, Jasmine Reid, and Augie WK.
The performance schedule kicked off at 7:00p with remarks from CreaTV CEO Chad Johnston, who welcomed everyone to Open San José. The program, held on the second Thursday of each month, became woven into Chopsticks Alley Art’s regularly scheduled CreativiTEA Open Mic Showcase, featuring powerful performances by House of Asha and Chansing Dai. Afterwards, the event hit its stride with a Hair and Tattoo Runway Show. Tattoo artist Low Le and hair stylist Ming Schipper presented their visions on models that adorned intricate illustrations inked to skin and colorfully stylized hair and nails.
The success of Issue 18.1 relies on the collaboration of everyone in our community—from event partners and contributors to the creatives featured, and anyone who walked through the doors or picked up the magazine. The spirit of Content Magazine lies in the relationships found within the community. As with all of our pick-up parties, the main goal is to come together, meet someone new, and introduce them to old friends.
Join us in February 2026 at Hobee’s Restaurant in Downtown San José for Pick-Up Party 18.2, “Sight and Sound.” The issue will feature creatives such as Akeen Raheem, William Johnston Bohrer, and Jacque Price, students from San José State University (photo 125), and our Santa Clara County Supervisors.
Content Magazine host their Pick Up Party at Open San Jose in San Jose, California, on November 13, 2025. (Stan Olszewski/SOSKIphoto)Content Magazine host their Pick Up Party at Open San Jose in San Jose, California, on November 13, 2025. (Stan Olszewski/SOSKIphoto)Content Magazine host their Pick Up Party at Open San Jose in San Jose, California, on November 13, 2025. (Stan Olszewski/SOSKIphoto)
