ASU grad designs magical gown for Arizona’s only Tony Awards voter

PHOENIX — PHENOM Couture designer Abigail Davis was chosen to create an intricate, sustainable and thoughtful gown for Arizona State University Executive Director of Gammage Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, who was attending the Tony Awards.

“Abigail has an incredible contemporary eye,” Jennings-Roggensack said. “When I wear this gown, I will be channeling two things: a very talented designer who happens to be a graduate of ASU and the state of Arizona. People will be shouting, ‘Who designed your dress?’ Abigail Davis did.”

The young designer took her time while creating the dress for Jennings-Roggensack. The dress took five months to perfect as part of a co-creation with one another. With an opportunity like this, Davis made sure to incorporate cutting-edge fashion technology and her sense of creativity.

Davis hand sourced the fabric used for the creation of the dress, making it one of a kind.  Remaining sustainable, the spandex-based materials in the corset is adjustable and can expand up to three sizes. This allows the design to be adaptable to the person wearing it.

Davis thanks ASU’s fashion program for introducing her to the newest software that taught her how to create fast patterns and how to be extremely accurate with sizing of the person that is going to be wearing the clothing, “—You wouldn’t even find that at some of the top fashion schools in New York City.”

Jennings-Roggensack is honored to have showcased Davis’s design at Sunday’s Tony Awards in New York City.

“I’m very proud to be from Arizona and be affiliated with ASU,” Davis said. She continues to tribute her work to her time at ASU’s fashion program. The program helped her create her company with all the skills she gained from her time at school.

Davis graduated from ASU’s fashion program in 2022. Her brand (PHENOM Couture) was created to empower the people who wear her clothing by emphasizing inclusivity of everyone’s body.  Davis’s creations are not only fashionable, but they also are personable as she works with her clients to create the perfect attire.  She even makes sure that her products are sustainable and that her designs aim for longevity.

“Sustainability takes form through several different factors for us here. Every project gets repurposed as filling for making coats — we’re repurposing every single scrap that we produce,” Davis said in a press release. “As far as sustainability goes with our couture services, I’m a pattern maker originally, so there’s sustainability within the integrity of our designs as well. Our gowns will grow with you and will be able to be passed on generationally because it’s not made out of a fixed material.”