Ohio State’s Fashion Production Association (FPA), which has been operating for over 30 years, held its annual student fashion show Saturday. The organization acts as an opportunity for students of any major to “publicly display their abilities in garment design and construction, as well as advertising, fundraising, and special event production,” per the club’s website.
The two halves of the club are design and production. The design half is where students create and assemble garments to be shown on the runway. For the production half, students act as event planners by engaging in marketing, fundraising and group-work throughout the year. Everyone comes together on the day of the show to present a full-fledged fashion show for the public.
The first semester is spent crafting a theme for the teams to bring to life. This year’s theme was “The Art of Fashion: A Night at the Gallery,” which is ironic as this year’s Met Gala dress code is “Fashion is Art.” FPA could be considered trend forecasters since their theme was decided around September and the Met followed suit in February.
The second half of the year focuses primarily on construction. This is receiving feedback on garments, creating promotional materials and fundraising.
I had the amazing honor of being chosen to design an individual collection for the show both this year and last. To fit this year’s theme of "The Art of Fashion," I chose to mix together two art forms I love dearly: painting, specifically water color, and poetry. To blend these two mediums I took inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem “The Raven,” and Edward Robert Hughes’ pre-raphaelite painting “Oh What’s That in the Hollow?”
While considering the best way to blend these two pieces together, I decided to focus my collection on several things: the ravens, the feathers and the flowers. With this, I narrowed in on the soft pinks and the purple velvet mentioned explicitly in the poem, as well as in the line “Nevermore.” I ended up using that as the collection’s title.
I started with sketches, sourcing fabric, creating a color palette and finding models. Throughout the year, ideas were shared with the club, critiques were given and edits were made. From there, collections progressed and the show got closer.
When the day of the show finally arrived, members of FPA and their models traveled to The Ohio Union at 8 a.m. Students at the Paul Mitchell School collaborated with the designers to make their hair and makeup visions into a reality.
Professional photos were then taken and practice runs began. Designers not only made their clothing and gave direction for hair and makeup, but also chose lighting and music to help convey the vibe of their collection.
The show started at 7 p.m. Each designer shared short videos explaining the concept of their collection. Then, models took the stage as their respective songs started. With a lofi remix of the “Great Fairy Fountain” from The Legend of Zelda, my collection took the stage and months of hard work was on display for the audience to see.
Seeing something you conceptualized, then slowly created with your own two hands, is a challenging feeling to put into words, however, it is incredibly rewarding. Each of the designers, models and members of the production team should be so proud of all the hard work they did and all the creativity they brought to the stage. The members of FPA owe so much gratitude to every creative outside our organization that collaborated with us—from the photographers to the students at the Paul Mitchell school, as well as our corporate sponsors and businesses that helped put raffle baskets together.
Thank you to everyone who came to support us at the show. Now, it is more important than ever to advocate for human creativity, handicrafts and the arts.
