Unchained OSU is a student-led organization focused on raising awareness of human trafficking through fashion and other forms of artistic expression. Every year the organization hosts a spring fashion show with gorgeous designs, moving speeches, poems and musical performances. 

Each year, the show features a different theme, representing the different stages of human trafficking; innocence, violence and restoration. 

This year, designers incorporated these themes through the lens of the seasons, with innocence being shown through summer, violence through winter and restoration through spring. 

Designs from the 2023 Unchained Fashion Show. Photo Credit: Archita Rout

Tanisha Dhankhar, a third-year in neuroscience and the president of Unchained said at the end of the day, the show has two main goals. The first is as a non-profit, raising money for a scholarship that sends overcomers to college, but the second goal is to simply raise awareness about human trafficking and how it can occur in our community.

“But I think knowledge is something that’s free. It’s something you can just pass along. And I mean, honestly, just, like spreading awareness about it in general is a really potent and powerful thing on its own,” Dhankhar said. “I think that’s the biggest takeaway. The biggest thing I want audience members to take out is just listen to the experiences that these overcomers and speakers have shown.” 

Each of the three sections of the show was designed by a different fashion designer. 

The summer or innocence stage opened the show was designed by local fashion designer Anjali Phougat and featured bright colors, multi-textured pieces, and different fabrics to portray the innocence of an overcomer, towards the beginning of their journey.

Phougat described her process in depicting the emotional stage of innocence in an overcomer’s life. 

“We used a lot of fun colors such as yellow, red and corals, ruffles and feathers in our designs to reflect happy and innocent vibes,” Phougat said.

Fashion designer Anjali Phougat's 2023 Unchained Fashion Show designs. Photo Credit: Dave Toth

To Phougat, fashion is more than what meets the eye. 

“When you dress with intention, your clothes can become an extension of your spirit,” Phougat said. “The conscious selection of fabrics, colors and designs that resonate with you can help cultivate a more authentic expression of your core being. It’s a personal journey towards recognizing and honoring your inner truth.”

Following the summer collection was the winter or violence stage of the show, designed by Columbus-based, self-taught designer Sydney Cole. This portion of the show featured cold, harsh colors and constricting designs representing the lack of agency of people within the bounds of human trafficking.

The final section of the show, designed by Vincent Quevedo, was the spring theme, representing the restoration of overcomers. Using floral colors and designs, this section focused on the growth and rebirth of human trafficking overcomers as they escape their circumstances of trafficking. 

The show was able to capture the individuality of both the designers and overcomers who played such a key role in telling the story and spreading awareness about so many different issues through the use of fashion.

This unique use of fashion as a storyteller is something Phougat said she understands. It is something that she said led her to participate in the Unchained fashion show for the third year in a row. 

“Consider for a moment the clothes you wear every day. The choice of every piece, every color, every texture is a message you send to the world,” Phougat said. “But have you considered that it might also be a message to your deeper inner self?”