8th Annual Gallatin Fashion Show, “(eco)uture,” Blew Our Recycled Cotton Socks Off
Environmentalism and fashion met on stage Friday, March 2.
In the wake of the second hottest year in earth’s history (with no El Niño), 2017, the 8th annual Gallatin Fashion Show, hosted last Friday, couldn’t have been more relevant and pioneering. This year’s theme was “(eco)uture” and designers were challenged with creating collections that exemplified sustainability, environmentalism, and trash consciousness. In celebration of eight successful years of Gallatin fashion shows, the committee decided to “return to their roots” and revisit the theme of their very first show back in 2010.
Their return to “(eco)uture” was not only an homage to their eight-year journey, but a reassertion of the cyclical nature of fashion itself.
“Fashion is always about cycles,” said Rhonda Garelick, professor of English at the University of Nebraska and author of Mademoiselle: Coco Chanel and the Pulse of History, at the start of the show. In conversation with designer and senior committee member, Victor Leonard, Garelick also reminded the gathered crowd of the fashion industry’s position as the number two top pollutant in the world. The two artists set the tone of “(eco)uture” perfectly by emphasizing the fact that clothing is organic and urging us to be conscious of how we “return the earth back to itself”.
This year’s showcase featured 11 diverse Gallatin designers, ranging in age from first year design students to recent alumni and faculty members. Each artist interpreted the theme with a unique and fresh set of eyes: elevating the concept of trash-consciousness and expanding the horizon of sustainable fashion.
The show kicked off with “Ocean Floor,” a sea-inspired collection by Shayna Feuer. Her pieces highlighted the immense beauty of the ocean juxtaposed with items of trash that can be found floating in the waters.
Feuer’s collection was one of many that celebrated nature while simultaneously calling out the ways in which we pollute it on a daily basis.
Kristen Chiu’s work, “Selvage: A Compostable Collection”, sought to reconcile the overwhelming presence of plastic in landfills by creating entirely compostable items of clothing. Her collection meticulously balanced delicate floral details with a highly structured canvas. Her models exuded ethereal garden-nymph vibes.
“BotANYbody”, Delaney Beem’s collection, also featured floral detail, but instead explored the relationship between the human body and the earth’s diverse botany. In her collection, “Weathering Away”, Madeline Dolgin actually incorporated the dyes and raw material of plants to create 100% eco-friendly designs; including a rain poncho adorned with the image of a landscape at risk of being destroyed.
Sanjula Singh’s “Bellezza Della Natura” offered the audience a more optimistic approach to sustainability by showcasing the “visual beauty of present-day Earth” in hopes to inspire the masses to conserve and reduce.
Other designers chose to focus their collections on textile waste and the direct impact of fashion on world pollution. Victor Leonard, senior fashion show committee member, reminded the audience before his presentation that it takes up to 8,000 gallons of water just to produce one pair of jeans. His collection, “Denim and Deconstruction” proposed a novel solution to this excessive misuse: recycling and repurposing the denim that is already in existence.
Vivian Jiang also composed her collection, “Cutting-edge”, entirely out of second-hand clothing items, but pulled from her own closet to create a sleek, Yeezy-Season-6-esque presentation. Jacqueline Sushan even had her models tote a “scrap bag” filled with the left over materials from the design table in her waste-free collection, “(Re)claim.”
Selly Djap called attention to the detrimental impact of the fast fashion industry in her collection, “Trauma”, and invited the public to form an emotional attachment to each item of clothing they own. Her intricate beadwork and strategically-placed cut outs, epitomized the concept of “slow fashion.”
Rachel Wang showcased her impressive drapery and pleat work in an homage to Orientalism, environmental conservation, and The Peaky Blinders gang with her collection, “opus caementicium”.
A selection of designers had a more unorthodox approach to sustainable fashion. Victoria Robichaud investigated the physical and social implications of the word “trash” and what it means to our generation culturally. Her collection, “TRASHWOMEN”, opened with a brief parody-skit of Real Housewives, giving the backstory of each of her models’ looks and their contributions to “trash-culture.” The audience was both amused and in awe of Robichaud’s meme-inspired cultural critique.
In his collection, “In Situ”, Ryan Porter Andrewsen digressed entirely from traditional silhouettes and forms as a means of suggesting urgent and innovative environmental change. His collection reflected the need for a “repositioning” of our resources and wasteful industries. “Climate Adaptation Wearables,” designed by the students of the “Designing For New Climates: Histories Of Adaptation” seminar, also advocated for immediate and comprehensive change. The students were challenged with deconstructing a standard orange life vest into an ensemble equipped for the impending climate apocalypse.
The eighth annual Gallatin fashion show was by all means thought-provoking, innovative, and culturally significant. Similar to last year’s show, “emPOWERed”, diversity and inclusion were at the forefront, and few realms of creative expression were left untapped. “(eco)uture” was a showcase of talent, ingenuity, and the never-ending fight to prolong the earth’s well-being.
All photos by Carmen Russo.
March 8, 12:00 p.m. Updated to correct the spelling of a name.
