Wearable art fashion show returns with bold new styles
Symiah Dorsey/The Lion's Roar
Nathaniel Britton, senior art major and creative director of The Wearable Art Fashion Show, submitted a piece titled “Sunlight and Gasoline,” modeled by Megan Blomquist.
Featuring wearable art of all shapes, sizes and materials, the second-annual Wearable Art Fashion Show made its way to the Vonnie Borden Theatre on March 18.
Nine artists with various professional backgrounds presented wearable art looks that were later voted on by the audience. Hosted by the Department of Visual Art + Design, the show doubled as the capstone project for senior art major and creative director Nathaniel Britton.
Britton described the feeling of seeing his hard work finally come to life on the runway.
“To me, this means so much, and it’s taught me so much about the real world. I really found out about Murphy’s law that everything that can go wrong will go wrong, but we really worked hard and put in the hours to make this happen. I couldn’t have done it without the crew I compiled, and we all became a community at the end. I loved it—every second of it,” Britton said.
The winning look of the night was “The True Heroes,” a tribute designed by artist Averie Avegno.
Avegno’s sister, a sophomore biology major at the university, encouraged her to participate in the show.
“I thought of an idea about COVID and everything going on, and I wanted to shine the light on nurses and doctors, but I added a bit of a dark spin. This was also a play on feminism to say that girls can do anything because back in the day they could not be doctors,” Avegno said.
Avegno said her take on wearable art required weeks of preparation.
“I took curtains and anything old I could find to make it new again and upcycle everything. I grabbed some pieces from Goodwill and home. It took about two weeks for the whole thing to come together and then another week to add details here and there,” she said.
Another artist to tell a story through her design was Sydney Salassi, a sophomore psychology major who modeled her own look, “Button Up.”
As Salassi walked down the runway, she tore fake organs off of a satin white dress. Salassi explained that her design was a visual representation of an issue she faces in her personal life.
“My piece was all about giving yourself away too much. I have a really bad habit of saying “oh my gosh, I can do it for you, no problem,’ and it feels like I’m ripping an organ out every time I do that. So, as I walked down the runway I kept ripping an organ out until I was left with almost nothing,” Salassi said.
Salassi said she was grateful for the new experience.
She said, “I absolutely loved this experience. It was super fun, and I loved all the designers and models.”
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Symiah Dorsey is a communication major from Laplace and serves as Editor-in-Chief. Raised in Europe, Symiah is an avid lover of languages, traveling and...
