Clothes speak for themselves in First Amendment fashion show
From the hippie movement in the 1960s to the 1990s grunge era, fashion has had a unique public voice that shows rather than speaks. And in a continuing celebration of the First Amendment, students will give a visual of freedom of speech through a fashion show.
Tonight, Syracuse University fashion design students will be personifying the freedom of expression through a unique fashion show for everyone at no cost. Beginning at 7 p.m., the show will feature models donning original student creations, once the lobby stairs of Newhouse I are transformed into a fashion runway.
The event is a part of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication’s yearlong celebration of the First Amendment in honor of the fall 2007 addition of Newhouse III. Produced by the students involved in Newhouse’s Fashion and Beauty Communications Milestone, the fashion show will feature original clothing designs of freshman, sophomore and junior fashion design majors from the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
The theme of the show is to illustrate how fashion and clothing have the ability to express powerful political and social messages.
‘Clothing is an expression of free speech and always has been,’ said Carla Lloyd, director of the Fashion and Beauty Communications Milestone program. ‘For example, it was the emblem of protest in the 1960s and 1970s when Levis were a part of the hippie culture.’
The fashion show, which was originally intended to be a one-time event celebrating the collaboration of VPA and Newhouse in the Fashion and Beauty in Communications Milestone last year, turned into an annual event due to an overwhelming turnout and overall happiness with the event. Last year’s show attracted students, faculty, parents and even people from the community.
A unique thing about this year’s show is for the first time, underclassmen have the opportunity to showcase their creations. Freshmen, sophomores and juniors each had a different assignment to add variety to the show and to show the progression of technique and design knowledge students gain throughout their four years.
‘(The students) are definitely going to do things that are pretty funky and theatrical,’ Lloyd said. ‘For the freshmen, they are mainly experimenting with muslin cloth, and they tend to get very creative. There could styles ranging from avant-garde to a wrap-around skort or pantaloons.’
This year, the show plans to capitalize on last year’s success. There will be VIP seating and seven special guests from local high schools attending as a part of the Unity project, a community outreach initiative.
‘It will be a party atmosphere with loud, well-mixed club music,’ Lloyd said. ‘The designs will be playful, sexy and inventive displayed on dazzling models. Plus it’s free and only an hour, why not come?’
Published on April 3, 2008 at 12:00 pm
