Pumping beats and colored spotlights accompanied fairy tale princesses as they strutted down the runway in pumps, stilettos and colorful, fairy tale-inspired accouterments.
It was all part of CU’s “Once Upon a Stiletto” fashion show, which gave CU students interested in fashion design a chance to showcase some of their work while giving those interested in modeling a chance to gain experience on the runway.
The show was held Friday evening in the UMC’s Glenn Miller Ballroom. Tickets were free but the event doubled as a clothing drive. Items donated by attendees were donated to charity.
The assignment given to the designers was to create a collection inspired by a fairy tale of their choice, fusing fashion and fantasy and topping it off with their own personal twist.
“My theme is ‘Cinderella,’ but I wanted to empower her,” said Tyne Hall, a 21-year-old junior history major. “I wanted to critique it, so there are lots of harsh silhouettes, lots of black. It’s also inspired by Aerosmith; it’s like if Cinderella and Steve Tyler had a love child.”
The audience was seated in the outline of a horseshoe, inside of which the models walked on a runway. Photographers were perched at the bend of the catwalk, taking shots from every which angle—even the floor. Before each designer’s collection would run, they would say a few words about their piece and what had inspired them.
The designers were not fashion majors, nor were the models. They were simply a bunch of passionate students expressing their art.
“I’m modeling for Viviane,” said Tola Idowu, 20-year-old junior sociology major. “I really like her theme because it’s different than the other three or four shows I’ve done. I’m really big on fashion and her theme is princesses. She has really big and outrageous outfits.”
Other collection themes were based on “The Little Mermaid” and “Alice in Wonderland.” One collection was exclusively necklaces.
Some collections were fantastic forms of art, but not necessarily outfits one would wear every day. Others were subtler, involving patterns that hinted at scales or seaweed, like “The Little Mermaid” ensemble.
“I really liked ‘The Little Mermaid’ collection; they were really wearable,” said Gina Yeon, a 20-year-old sophomore architecture major.
All of the models were very diverse, and for the most part, they were all very good. Girls of all colors, shapes and sizes walked down the catwalk.
“I thought it was stunning,” said Nick Bath, a 20-year-old chemical engineering major. Bath’s girlfriend had joined the models for the show that very night. “She just jumped right into it, somebody bailed out so she just filled in.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Anna McIntosh at Anna.mcintosh@colorado.edu.
