Friday night in a packed Glenn Miller Ballroom was no exception as designers in the Fashion Design Student Association announced by first name only watched models strutted their stuff on a runway. The theme of the night was “Fashion Faux Pas,” and good or bad, each design was a sight to behold.
Students seemed eager to see the works of each designer, like Catalina Jaime, a 20-year-old junior accounting major.
“I came to support a friend of mine,” Jaime said. “Why would you pass up seeing a friend in a fashion show?”
The first faux pas of the night highlighted the decade of all fashion crimes—the 80s—as bright colors and mismatched patterns littered the runway.
The audience was “treated” to a take on Halloween, where one designer showcased her collection of masks. Marilyn Manson’s “This Is Halloween” played in the background, guiding the audience through an interesting, and at times, creepy interpretation of this faux pas of people hiding behind their “masks.”
Many designers used a take on women empowerment as a faux pas. The social and political statement seemed to shine with audiences. The fourth designer, Erin, edged up her collection by using expletives along with fabric to bring her message across. A few students cited this collection as their favorite, including 19-year-old sophomore architecture major, Zane Levin.
“I thought it was very interesting,” Levin said. “Using it as a faux pas was creative.”
Other designers, such as Mariah, poked fun at her talents (or lack thereof) as a fashion designer, citing her “lack of sewing talent as my faux pas.” Her collection of feathered boas as a skirt and a potentially wearable duct tape dress added more fun to the show.
Designer Kayla brought her personal life into her designs as she credited her brother Ben and his time serving in the military. With the obvious camouflage, Kayla included loose shirts, belts and tights on the models. Each model even gave a salute. As a spectator, her brother Ben seemed to look at his sister’s collection with pride.
One of the crowd favorites was designer Krissa’s collection, which included bold colors and tweed patterns. Stating that “standing out of a crowd” is a faux pas, designs such as a bright yellow skirt and red pants were welcomed with applause and a sea of inquisitive reactions.
The show closed with a Matador theme. Though not a faux pas, this collection added even more fun by giving each model a small mustache along with full shirts and matador jackets in various fabrics.
From the bizarre to the beautiful, the show seemed to impress students, including 18-year-old freshman marketing major, Kristy Feng.
“I’ll definitely be there next semester,” Feng said. “I like fashion, so to see it at this school is awesome.”
Slideshow photos were taken by Sara Fossum.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Taylor Evans at Taylor.evans@colorado.edu.
