The Silver Lining of a Canceled Fashion Show

The backstage buzz, the stress of quick changes, a full week of night rehearsals leading to Stephens College’s fashion show, I want it all back. I want to clap and watch in awe as our student designers present their garments to a cheering crowd. Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen – at least not for now.

I am one of twelve students enrolled in Stephens’s Fashion Show Production class and responsible for planning the college’s 76th Annual Student Designer Fashion Show. Earlier this semester, our class selected a theme for the show, designed our marketing materials and started preparing for Jury of Selection. A panel of industry experts attend Jury of Selection to review the garments completed by fashion design majors. Besides providing feedback to students, the panel selects the designs that will be featured in the show.

A rigorous process, Jury of Selection is both an exciting and tense moment for students. After a year of working on concepts, drafting patterns, cutting fabric, stitching, ripping out seams, stitching again and fitting models, students hope their designs make it into the fashion show.

Two days before the coveted event, we received an email titled Campus Announcement. In response to the outbreak of COVID19, Stephens College joined the list of colleges and universities that suspended in-person classes and canceled events. For us, this meant that jurors were not coming to campus and worse—that the fashion show was canceled. After 75 runway shows that stood the test of time, war and economic crisis, ours was the exception.

We were devastated. Fashion design seniors had been waiting four years for this show, the show where they present their final collection. More than a mere culmination of a design program, the fashion show represents a real-life opportunity for all fashion students to gain experience and media exposure. It’s a chance for students to shine and show who they are as artists and creators.

Faculty gathered, students collaborated and finally, there was a determination. Stephens women would make this work. Yes, the news was hard to accept, but everyone in the world was experiencing similar situations. The pandemic pushed us to see beyond ourselves and to make the best out of a bad situation.

We had a photographer booked for Jury of Selection, an extraordinary collection of garments and a panel of enthused jurors who were willing to virtually review garments and provide feedback. So, Jury of Selection transitioned into an eight-hour photoshoot. The goal was to create images so jurors could review the garments and students could showcase their work.

Faculty, students and models came together showing a true esprit de corps. As each model walked onto the white photography backdrop, faculty and designers assisted with the styling. They ensured everything was perfect; there were no loose threads or crooked collars. Students cheered each other, expressing all the “wows” and “love it” that I had wished for them to receive at the fashion show. Some family members were able to attend. From behind the photographer, they proudly took photo after photo of the designers and their creations. I can only imagine how hard this was for them too, but everyone stepped up and worked together. Some students served as improvised models, others became make up artists and hairstylists.

By the end, professors and students shared their words of appreciation for each other. Tears were inevitable, but so were hugs and several minutes of dancing. As I looked around the room, I was filled with pride. Unity was the silver lining of a canceled fashion show.

As a senior, I’ve struggled to put into words how I feel about this being my last semester, about everything suddenly ending without time for goodbyes or senior photos. However, I can easily articulate that while standing in that room, surrounded by caring faculty and talented students, I felt admiration and respect. I felt grateful and privileged to call myself a Stephens student and to truly understand the power of our community and our will.