The time is 7pm (ish) on a crisp Friday evening. The place is the only location I’ve ever cried in front of another adult – the Engineering and Science Building at Kudzu League’s very own Vanderbilt University. Each step I take towards the metal and glass cathedral switches my emotional state between the muscle-memory dread of graduate school and the tantalizing prospect of Vanderbilt Fashion Week’s second annual fashion show. The closer I get to the building, the more stylish people I see, gravitating in from campus. I’m late but-naturally- the show is fashionably late. The lone violinist finishes her set and VFW founder Lauren Parker delivers the organization’s mission statement: to influence our view of our present by reusing fabrics of the past to achieve a sustainable future. The Future of Fashion begins.
Karisma Hishikawa seems to pit fashion history against its future in our first collection. The first dress is a multi-color conglomeration of upcycled T-shirts with a shape reminiscent of large-shouldered waistcoats associated with the royal past. Black opera gloves and calf-high military boots accentuate the flirtation between masculinity and femininity: kingly stature with provocative cuts. In the collection’s second piece we find a fair isle sweater cleverly reimagined into a modern bodice. Pairing this top with tattered bellbottoms and boots maintains that loose threads need not be pulled. Karisma’s final piece is a massive, deeply layered skirt matching the first dress’s color palette. If you are once again thinking House of Worth, know that Karisma paired the first dress with this skirt in past shows.
Georgiana Katsingris’ collection lives comfortably in the realm of femininity with yet another call to fashion’s past. All three pieces are based in modern dress silhouettes with cheeky accents, riffing on baroque stylings. Her first piece showcases two playful skirts of off-kilter ruffles, draping from a strapless burnt sienna dress. The next piece yet again flirts with ruffle accents along the wide neckline and hem but this time in a sleek mermaid-style dress in a beautiful dark olive hue. The final piece in Katsingris’ collection features the burnt sienna colorway once more, this time utilizing a thickly woven fabric which glimmers in the spotlight. The ruffles are still present this time as a whisper rather than a statement.
The next collection is presented by RENDERED FREE, a studio based out of Nashville, TN which aims to raise awareness of human trafficking. Lead designer Elizabeth Koemi’s first look demonstrates a mastery of silhouette-play, showcasing a chambray poncho that elegantly drapes in curvaceous thunderbolts to the floor. This piece is also striped with a color swatch that seems to riff on classic Hudson’s Bay point blankets. The necklace paired here seems to further suggest indigenous motifs with its bold pairing of metal and clay. The second look riffs on workwear with a black-jean and chambray jacket featuring an embroidered falcon motif, that could pair with anything you already own. The studio’s vintage-style tee and tote, and calf-high boots complete the second look in a collection that shows sustainability is ready-to-wear for all.
Deniz Hur reminds us loudly of the show’s mission statement with two outfits heavily featuring reclaimed denim. A corset consisting of multiple denim waistbands sits atop a deep blue indigo jean skirt which turns into a white oxford dress shirt midway through its inseam. Paired with scallop socks and chunky penny loafers, it’s an outfit that says, “quit your office job and go to a rave”. The second outfit features even heavier upcycling with a denim jack seppuku’d in half, a back-pocket skirt, and arm warmers with safety pin “cufflinks”. These two outfits pit the rugged of denim versus the fragile beauty of our bodies in an ironic battle of function and form.
Our first men’s collection of the night is presented by designer Edith Yee Ting Ho who brings us a grungy assortment of yarns, secondhand garments and fabrics which are used to explore the complex beauty of the human eye. The collection starts out with cut and clear eye motifs crocheted directly into repurposed tops with empty pupils – windows directly to the model’s soul. As the collection continues, the beautiful vibrant yarns which once constructed the iris unravel, draping in lovely destruction across the models. The collection ends in tatters of yarn which have turned black, forming a hood in front of the model’s eye – a symbolic manifestation of the sightless.
The Guidry Twins lead us from of our grunge-era exploration into a peacocking glamour reminiscent of Y2K maximalism and mod fashion: a collection that boldly asks, “What if Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures was set in Breckinridge Colorado?” Jokes aside, each eclectic piece is a stunning exploration into maximizing textures and silhouettes within the confines of a winter-sport apparel. The twins present four looks evocative of fashion’s more irreverent side like that of Christian Cowan or Moschino. Whether the piece is unexpectedly combining heavy metals with lofty feathers and furs, mismatching jacket vests and sleeves, or taking models from skin-tight to billowing, there isn’t a look that feels out of place.
Our second men’s collection is the work of Xijun Liao who once again returns us to grunge: carefully tattered fabrics, deep layering, and gorgeous earth tones. One can’t help but think of Rick Owen if he obsessed over yarn rather than shoelace. Each garment shares a weight in the overall aesthetic that suggests any one of these subsets could be combined with one another, creating countless new looks. This versatility strikes me as especially adept in its goal of showcasing sustainability, flirting with the furthest edges of upcycled clothing’s capabilities. None of the models wear shoes in these looks, further suggesting the “from the earth” aesthetic. It’s as if to say, “it is our humanitarian duty to keep these clothes from wasting away”.
Mia Powell showcases an array of fully crocheted outfits evocative of the cutesy, high-energy street fashion of Harajuku. With cutesy motifs, provocative cuts, and candy-bright colorways, the collection evokes a brighter tinge of Vetements irony. The interplay between the innocence of the garments with the dollish silhouettes brings us the show’s most unabashedly feminine energy yet. Powell’s studio Hot Girl Heaven is proving that the teenage dream depicted in FRUiTS MAGAZINE is still alive and well.
Lea Belon’s collection ATEMPORAL grabs the imagination and drags it across genre and time. Blink once, and the billowy, flowing fabrics will remind you of the histories found in romantic oil paintings. Blink again and the asymmetric, glimmering cuts remind you of a fantastical story you haven’t heard yet. Blink one more time and – hey is that Princess Leia? Whatever you see the next time you look, it will be paradoxically fresh and timeless.
The final collection in tonight’s show is that of Andrea Clara, which rounds out a night of sustainability with a focus on upcycled materials and hand worked garments. Massive textures march across each look, starting with a braided beige shoulder bag splashing against a beautifully knit black sweater and ridged slacks. Next, a vibrant blue cord-woven scarf tied at the waist with a bright green belt creating a very inventive backless dress. The bright green sandals and bag really complete this particular look, the latter being constructed of a beautiful wooden handle and a lovely billiard cue style body. The final look in the collection was a truly stunning cream dress which seems upcycled from a chenille blanket, accented with frills and a side-drape- breathing life to each dimension of the original garment
The models march out one last time for final applause before we are dismissed, students heading back to their dorms and models taking selfies with one another. I don’t bother anyone for individual pictures: maybe because the PHD PTSD was creeping back in, maybe because the show had me wanting to repurpose every other garment I had at home. With that, VFW successfully showcases its ten designers from across the globe, each with their personal visions of sustainability in the future of fashion.