Fashion Shows by definition are an event at which collections of newly designed clothing are modeled for an audience. But, for us fashion students it is so much more. Come Saturday April 29th, we will have logged hundreds of hours preparing for this capstone in our college career. From decorations, and merchandise, to models and marketing, we are tirelessly working to prepare for the 36th annual fashion show, in hopes of it surpassing any of the past shows. We have made strides of progress, but we had to start somewhere.

In the Fall 2016 semester, we were given an assignment for our Merchandise Planning and Control class; develop and present a theme for the show this coming spring. Easy, right? Not so much. I know personally I spent a couple days going back and forth trying to curate something that was fresh, but also wide open for interpretation. What I finally landed on? Elysium.

Elysium, a prominent term in Greek mythology, refers to the “heavenly bliss” of the greek afterlife. It is a direct representation of happiness and beauty. Personally I saw this as a great opportunity for myself and fellow students to demonstrate what fashions made them happy. Taking it a step further, I decided that each individual scene should be named after a Greek God or Goddess, whom the students fashions represented. It was an opportunity to incorporate a high level of inclusivity, while sticking to a strong theme. Now imagine the forum decorated to resemble Mt. Olympus…pretty amazing, right?

I am excited to be as involved as I am for the show this spring. From deciding the theme for the overall show, designing the aesthetics for the forum, working as the Project Manager for the Front of the House Committee, as well as producing a scene with a fellow student, it is a whirlwind of managing different aspects.

My scene, produced in conjunction with Sophomore, and fellow Event Planning student, Mary Nolan will focus on the Goddess, Gaia. Known as the goddess of earth, our scene will heavily feature, natural bohemian wear, mixed with earthy elements, which truly is a personification of both Mary and myself.

I am beyond humbled to have had my theme chosen for production from among my fellow students. The level of talent present in this program is astounding, and I still have a hard time grasping that people believe in my theme, as much as they do. The 2017 Fashion show will certainly be a tremendous amount of work, however there is a surplus of creativity, talent, dedication and inspiration that will hopefully push this show to be the best one to date.

Author: Ciera Schwartz

Instagram: @ciera_m

Twitter: @cieramschwartz