The Fashion Association of Design Students hosted its annual fall fashion show in the lobby of The Warehouse Saturday. The show, themed ‘Fashion’s Night Out ‘Cuse Style’ after New York City’s ‘Fashion Night Out,’ was completely student-run. The event helped raise money for a scholarship fund geared toward senior fashion design majors.

 

‘It’s for seniors who are starting their senior collections to buy fabric, trims and materials, that sort of thing,’ said Hannah Slocum, a senior fashion design major and president of FADS.

The event presented a cheerful atmosphere and sizeable turnout, but the execution of the outfits was fairly disappointing.

 

The Warehouse’s lobby was arranged to resemble a New York City runway. The lighting, techno soundtrack and seating mix of chairs and couches created a sleek atmosphere comparable to a show in the city’s Soho district or Brooklyn’s Williamsburg. The lobby itself was very chic, and the bright green and stark white color palette created a playful aesthetic.

 

Featuring 60 looks, the show lasted about 30 minutes. Pieces were submitted from students in the fashion design program. Slocum said anyone in the fashion department could submit any of his or her pieces.

‘It’s to showcase their work, to get their stuff in a show, get a picture for portfolios,’ Slocum said.

 

The turnout was considerable for a student-run event held downtown on a Saturday night, but in the past, the show has been held on Family Weekend, which attracted more people, Slocum said. 

 

‘I expected a little more, but that’s only because in the past we’ve always have had parents,’ she said. ‘It’s usually always on Parents Weekend. But this year Parents Weekend was in September, so we didn’t get everything in time for the show.’

 

Gareth Brown, a junior fashion design major and FADS member who helped produce the show, said it was a risk not holding the show during Family Weekend, when the show is normally held.

 

The outfits were oddly executed and even with a large number of looks, a T-shirt created for the event was modeled at least 15 times. A few outfits featured a single designer’s piece worn with the event’s T-shirt and jeans. The designs, by themselves, were excellent, but the poor execution took away from the garments’ details.

 

Even though the event was a showcase and not an actual collection, the lineup seemed to lack any consistency. Except for the cluster of dresses, which came out near the end, the arrangement of looks was random and disconnected.

 

The fabrics used were interesting, ranging from a dress made out of a beautiful purple pattern to a piece that resembled a tablecloth taken from the student’s grandmother’s house.

 

Some of the designs lacked the creativity expected from such an acclaimed fashion program. A couple of the dresses featured looked exactly like pieces that have been hanging on the racks of Urban Outfitters for the last two years. Other designs looked thrown together and were poorly fitted to the model. Granted, the show wasn’t a final collection, but if a piece is not ready for a show, it should be pulled. 

 

In addition, the event lacked any kind of program that would credit which piece belonged to which designer. 

Despite the shoddy executions, students felt the event turned out well. 

 

‘It was fun,’ said Jenna Heller, a junior English and textual studies major who modeled in the show. ‘A little chaotic backstage, but it was definitely successful.’

 

The after-party took place at Bounce, a boutique located just around the corner from The Warehouse in Armory Square. Tables with bottles of water, cookies, cupcakes and vegetable plates were placed throughout the store, and guests were able to enjoy a 20 percent discount on merchandise.

 

‘I think it went really well,’ said Brown, the junior fashion design major. ‘I think it was successful, everybody worked really hard and it came together nicely.’

 

letousig@syr.edu