In a packed venue marked by booming music and iridescent aesthetics, Gallatin Fashion Week finished off with its annual fashion show on Friday at the Jerry H. Labowitz Theatre for Performing Arts. The event showcased collections from 12 Gallatin students and three alumni designers that envisioned “Pop-Couture” in bold colors and unconventional accessories that masterfully displayed innovative, punk thinking through the exploration of “pop in all of its forms.”
The evening opened with a brief rundown of unforgettable moments in fashion media, led by Gallatin administrators and Shira Sue Carmi, a Gallatin alum and former CEO of independent fashion luxury brand Altuzarra based in New York City. Think Miranda Priestly’s famous cerulean sweater monologue in “The Devil Wears Prada,” Jennifer Lopez’s iconic green Versace dress from the 2000 Grammy Awards and John F. Kennedy Jr. visiting Carolyn Bessette at the Calvin Klein office in the new series “Love Story.”
“I love the classic idea of everything we wear trickles down from the runway,” Carmi said in her preshow remarks. “No matter what you do, the fashion industry impacts you one way or another.”
Junior Ava Paolucci’s “Things That Pop (Literally)” kicked off the show with designs that were colorful, fun, innovative and wonderfully on theme. The first model strutted down the runway wearing a white dress with thin red stripes and popcorn adorning the bust, a creative nod to the collection’s theme as she munched on the snack itself. The other models carried red, green and confetti-filled balloons — all wearing matching colored outfits — with one noteworthy look of a model dressed in baby blue and creating bubbles using a bottle of bubble solution. Paolucci’s final design was a navy dress with colorful circles sewed from the bodice to the hem to resemble balloons floating away, showcasing the design’s fun and eccentric ideas as the model threw a party popper on stage.
Following this was Anthony Offiah’s “Dysphoria: Catalyst to Metamorphose.” The senior took creative liberty in his reimagination of the show’s theme — the collection was marked with starkly contrasting silhouettes and muted colors, with some pieces bringing out hints of artistic patterns. Rooted in Afrofuturist ideals, Offiah offered a depiction of the physical sensations that come with change — whether that was demonstrated through latex suit dresses or the rougher textures that resemble paper-mache surfaces. Several motifs, such as the utilization of bows, were consistent throughout his pieces, encapsulating Offiah’s theme of stepping into a confident and present version of oneself.
Some designers, like senior Nora Comtois, also walked as models. Her collection “Bubblegum POP,” contained designs that centered around polka dots, hints of pink and bubble silhouettes, with several looks featuring bubblegum’s quintessential pink and metallic fabric referencing the inside of a gum wrapper. For her first time putting together a collection from scratch, Comtois recounted how much of the process was led by experimentation.
“I just kind of had to figure out ways to make it work since I don’t actually have any real design experience,” Comtois told WSN between congratulatory hugs after the show. “I tried to make a lot of corsets and adjustable skirts with the collection. I want to make them in more sizes so it can fit me and my friends. A lot of the pieces are mix and matchable, and I wanted all of us to be able to wear them.”
By far the most provocative designs came from graduate student Jennifer Qian’s “Pop Circuit.” Instead of letting circuit boards, wires, LED lights and remnants of technological consumption end up in the landfill, Qian integrated them into her peculiar apparel to critique overconsumption and electronic waste. Qian echoed the lasting effects technology has on both fashion and other aspects of society, an idea that is deeply embedded in her collection. One particular look included circuit boards on a bra and on a light green wrap micro miniskirt — a symbol of fashion moving toward an increasingly digitized future.
Junior Adison Gamradt’s “WORDS FOR END TIMES” had something to say — literally. Each outfit incorporated words or symbols into its design, some of which featured entire stories written in dark ink, while others featured chic, more subtle statements you could casually wear across the city. One design that stood out for its eccentricity was a white mini dress, marked by a triangular silhouette with illustrations of figures tumbling through space and paired with a white cap with pointed ears and a sword — a nod to the designer’s recurring accessorization with swords. Another model sported a look that tested the boundaries of fashion, with a model sporting a fake black eye and bloody Band-Aid and wearing a plain, white shirt with only the words “washed up punk rock legend.
To close out the show, Gallatin alum Caroline Widdowson’s “Let Them Stare” lived up to its name with colorfully eye-catching designs. Incorporating the literal definition of pop similar to Paolucci, the collection included dresses inspired by playful elements such as party poppers, champagne, popcorn and fireworks. A dress with a golden yellow base and uncoordinated lines of cherry red, midnight blue, sky blue and silver ribbons opened the collection — but the theme was most prominently marked by the simple accessory of a headband constructed as a bottle of pop with matching streams of red, blue and silver. Aiming to inspire viewers to unapologetically be themselves, Widdowson flaunted grandeur and theatricality as her favorite accessories.
Bobby Peñaherrera, the Associate Director of Student Life at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study and the show’s emcee, told WSN that Gallatin Fashion Week is a rewarding challenge, including Tuesday’s ReFASHION free clothing swap.
“It’s the most fun week of the year,” Peñaherrera said. “It’s obviously incredibly stressful, and there’s a lot of work that goes into it, but it’s also very, very fun and we love it.”
Contact Alessa Alluin at [email protected].