Aphrodite was the goddess of fertility, love, and beauty. She also represents affection, and the attraction that binds people together.  Two different stories explain the birth of Aphrodite. The first is simple: She was the child of Zeus and Dione. According to the second story, however, Aphrodite rose from the foam of the sea.  Aphrodite and her son Eros teamed up to cause Zeus to fall in love with a human named Europa.  Aphrodite loved Adonis. She saw him when he was born and determined then that he should be hers. She assigned Persephone to his care, but Persephone fell in love with Adonis also and would not give him back. Finally, Zeus had to mediate. He judged that Adonis should spend half the year with each.  Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena were the top three contenders for a gold apple marked “For the Fairest.” They asked Zeus to judge the contest, but he refused. Paris, son of the King of Troy, judged the contest instead. Each of the three goddesses promised him something in return; he chose Aphrodite as the winner of the apple. This story of the Judgment of Paris was considered to be the real reason behind the Trojan War.  During the Trojan War, Aphrodite fought on the side of Paris.  Aphrodite rescued Paris from Menelaus by enveloping him in a cloud and taking him back to Troy.

For this year’s fashion show, Aphrodite will be representing the bridal scene. This is my last semester at GCC and I knew from the beginning I wanted to do the wedding scene. I am inspired by the magical feeling that you can feel within a wedding and it truly captures the beauty and affection of such a special moment. Your wedding day is an event that you will never forget!   My vision for my scene is to have my models looking like it’s there own wedding day. I want the audience to be able to feel the connection between each “bride” and “groom”. Being the last scene of the night, I want the audience leaving with a smile on there face. I hope that it will bring back the great memories some of the guests have experienced in their wedding.  The bridal gowns being used in the scene were donated from Dalia’s Bridal and M.A Carr Bridal, both located in Buffalo, NY.

All the brides are wearing veils and flower crowns. I am hand making all of them! I had a busy spring break getting all my pieces put together.  Here is just a couple samples of my work so far.

 

All the males will be wearing tuxedos and I have been lucky enough to get some of them donated by Charles Men’s shop, located right here in Batavia.

I also decided I would like to feature bridesmaids, as well as the brides! The bridesmaid dresses being used have been donated from Jill Monroe, who is apart of the fashion advisory board and a fashion seamstress in Buffalo.  Also, four of the bridesmaid dresses have been created by designer, Meghan Hollister who is a high school student.

This is my first time doing a scene in this year’s fashion show and I am bettering my communication skill, teamwork techniques, and planning.  Planning an entire scene takes lots of patience and practice. Although it’s been very stressful, it’s so exciting to be able to gain the hands on experience in my career field that I love so much. I can’t wait to see the how the show turns out!

 

Author: Kourtney N. Shearer

Instagram: @kourtneyshearer

Twitter: @kourtneynicole7