SERVitecture, a design/build community service organization at Ohio State’s Knowlton School of Architecture, hosted the first-ever Knowlton Fashion Schau – German for “show” – in July of 2012, an event that has continued to be a tradition for Ohio State’s architecture students today.
This Friday’s ALTER(EGO)-themed Schau, hosted in the Knowlton Hall Center Space, marked the 12th year of the architecture tradition.
Lindsey James, a fourth-year in architecture and the Schau president said she has loved being a part of the Schau’s committee throughout her time at Ohio State.
“My freshman year there was no Schau due to COVID,” James said. “My sophomore year I was the vice president when we had the theme (UP)ROOTED and then my junior year was my first year as the president.”
James said that all the proceeds from this year’s Schau – over $1,500 – were donated to Dress for Success, a Columbus-based non-profit dedicated to helping women achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire and career development tools.
“It’s a really great cause. Dress for Success does a lot of great work but the event is also just a lot of fun,” James said. “A lot of the school comes together and it’s a great way for students to use their creativity in a different way because as architecture students, we kind of get stuck in a box of creating buildings that are just four corners so it’s a way to break people free.”
James said although many people don’t associate architecture with fashion, that is one of the aspects of the Schau that is so unique.
“One thing that you learn in architecture is that architecture isn’t just buildings, it is more about the people and how they use the space,” James said. “It forces the designers to make the space for their own bodies, so it’s like they’re designing architecture for themselves.”
This year’s Fashion Schau winner, 17-year-old Scarlett Yu, a junior at Olentangy Liberty High School, said she found out about the Schau while attending an architecture design camp in middle school.
“Last year I helped volunteer, just to set up and then this year I just asked them if I could design and they let me,” Yu said. “I’ve always liked fashion and I always wanted to get into fashion but didn’t know how and I saw this as a unique opportunity to explore the fashion world.”
Yu said each of the five designs she created for the show, including two floor-length gowns – one red and one light blue – as well as three mini dresses – one navy blue, one teal and one purple, was made entirely of tape. She used packing tape as a base layer, adding colored Duct Tape to the main portion of each dress, then added details using silver Duct Tape.
“I made the red dress first, just because I love the color red, then I based the rest of them on that,” Yu said. “When I first made the dress I added these silver details and then I realized that it kind of looked cyber or almost alien-like.”
This alien-like, futuristic design, Yu said, is the alter ego she wanted to represent through her collection.
“When watching movies, people always put themselves in this world that they think of as being futuristic, usually, with flying cars everywhere and robots so this collection is like another reality and another version of ourselves,” Yu said. “Alter ego is another identity and so this is an identity that everyone has been picturing and depicting and then I brought it to reality.”
James said that although the Schau has become a tradition for architecture students she hopes that the Schau can also help bring students from other majors together in the future.
“Everyone is invited to come and participate and to come watch,” James said. “We really want to be a community resource for people and we want to create a fun event that everybody can enjoy.”
To learn more about and to donate to Dress for Success Columbus visit this link.
