Charity Fashion Show

Charity was the name of the game in this Saturday’s annual fashion show event at Stanford to support “Doctors Without Borders.” The purpose of the show, which was appropriately titled “Fashion Without Borders” was to raise money for this charity by displaying several student designs on student models. Personally, I thought this was a great idea since I feel that fashion design is a medium of expression that is seldom visible on campus, although I didn’t particularly see the theme manifested in any of the collections.

Following the enthusiastic introduction by two announcers, the lights dimmed and a steady bass beat could be heard. After all the male models wheeled in the female models on hand trolleys and wheelbarrows like mannequins, everyone burst into a choreographed hip-hop number to Kanye West’s “Stronger.” The dance looked fairly polished; all the models wore some combination of black, white and silver, unifying them yet still enabling them to maintain their individuality. Perfectly complimented by the black runway and black backdrops designed to not detract from any of the fashions, the models continued dancing to Britney Spears’ “Gimme More.”

After the enthusiastic and energy-charged opening dance scene, the presentation of collections began. All of the designs were impressive, but I was most struck by the works of designers Karen Lum and Lorick.
Karen Lum’s collection of designs were casual yet completely chic and classy. Her pieces focused on creating shapes that work with the body and the clothing. For example, she included many dresses with bulging hems and cinched waistlines to demonstrate a dramatic contrast between the top and bottom of the dress. Additionally, the use of patterns in Lum’s clothing was very appropriate in the context of the collection. Adhering to the simplistically classic look, the designer opted to mix bold, bright colors in block rather than mixing patterns. In fact, Lum only used patterned fabric for a couple dresses, and even then, the pattern was broken up by a neutral yet bold belt at the waist. I really enjoyed seeing Karen Lum’s designs in the show because they put a modern twist on a classic look.

The other collection that was of particular interest to me was that of designer Lorick. This designer seemed to favor yellows, blacks and blues in her pieces, which I found to be a novel color scheme. I tend to think of bumble bees when I see black and yellow paired together, but this designer did an excellent job of avoiding such an association of colors with her strategic, non-alternating combination of the two colors. Creating a waist was definitely the central focus of this collection; the shapes were a little less form fitting than the clothing in Karen Lum’s designs, but nevertheless, the waist was always accentuated, creating a look that was flattering without being overly curve-hugging. Lorick’s clothing was somewhat less practical than Lum’s; I could definitely see Lorick’s high waisted trousers with gold decorative buttons and strapless jumpsuits in an issue of Vogue or on a runway during Fashion Week, but not so much on a normal person. Still, Lorick’s designs were gorgeous and definitely quite fashionable.

Each of these collections seemed to have their own specific theme and did not really conform or contribute to the general theme of the show, which was “Fashion Without Borders.” Karen Lum, who had the more functional designs, in my opinion, focused on shapes and Lorick’s concentration was on creating a definitive waistline. In retrospect, the show did include some other student groups which had different cultural focuses. Arabesque, the Middle Eastern dance group, performed intermittently and two representatives from Students Promoting Ethnic and Cultural Kinship (SPEACK) spoke about their purpose. Personally, I believe that the title of the show was selected because it was a somewhat clever alteration of the charity’s name and didn’t really have the intention of creating a theme to which the collections should adhere. In site of that, the show was very entertaining and apparently successful in raising money for “Doctors Without Borders,” judging by the high attendance rate.

Student designers and models alike joined forces to raise money for a worthy cause through their love of fashion. Although I was slightly confused by the theme of the show, the featured designers were obviously incredibly talented and the models put a lot of work into the show. Fashion is often overlooked as a serious medium of expression, so I was delighted to see a showcase of student designs while supporting a great cause. I would say the event was quite successful since all the proceeds benefitted the charity and, as we all know Tyra Banks would say, the show was “fierce.”