There will be many “firsts” in this year’s edition Cornell Fashion Collective spring parade.
The 38th annual event, on April 30, beginning at 2 p.m., will be CFC’s first in-person spring show since 2019. The event will also be the first time the public will be able to view the collections of the approximately 60 students design in CFC Tiers 1 through 4.
And perhaps the most significant “first”: this year’s event will be held outdoors, in the Arts Quad, under three large marquees to guarantee an event rain or shine. Previous in-person spring shows have been held at Barton Hall.
Cardinal Robinson ’24, creative director of Cornell Fashion Collective’s Spring 2022 Runway Show, dresses one of his models before the Twilight Exhibition runway show, held March 26 in the basement of Milstein Hall.
“I was really looking forward to it (in 2020) and then the same week we were going to have the show, it was canceled,” said Cardinal Robinson ’24, creative director of CFC and a fiber science and apparel design student at the College of Human Ecology (CHE). “Then we came back last year and we didn’t show up. So this is pretty amazing, because we can really have a show where people can finally show off their looks.
“It’s really exciting,” he said, “and a bit surreal, to be honest.”
The track will be installed on the diagonal walkway that runs from Goldwin Smith Hall northwest toward the Herbert F. Johnson Museum. Two of the tents will be opaque and one will have a transparent roof, to let in natural light.
Tickets to the event are $10 for general admission, $15 for friends and family seating, and $35 for VIP seating.
Designers at levels 1 and 2 are assigned themes that they must use as inspiration for their pieces. Level 1’s theme is “Unconventional”; Level 2 is “Monochrome”, with the blue color theme. More advanced designers can choose their own themes.
In 2020, the pandemic scrapped the event at the last minute. Last year it was done virtually, with a collection of short films showing the line of each designer. One film was produced for all Tier 1 designers and one for Tier 2 designers; Level 3 and 4 designers each produced their own short films highlighting their work.
A model in one of Cardinal Robinson’s designs walks down the stairs at the CFC Twilight Exhibition, held March 26 in the basement of Milstein Hall.
“Our board came up with a really creative solution,” said Sarina Matson ’22, managing director of CFC, who also studies fiber science and garment design at the new Human Centered Design Department, in CHE. “Actually, he was really cool creatively, because each designer was able to have creative control over how he wanted to represent his designs.”
Matson said CFC will bring some of the lessons learned from the virtual event to this year’s in-person program.
“I think what we really want to preserve is that extra creativity,” he said, “and I think that’s why Cardinal (Robinson) really wanted him out. It’s different from our traditional Barton Hall show, which I think didn’t really allow much room for creativity on the part of the designers.”
Ruby Jones ’22, a Level 4 Designer majoring in Fashion Design, said she was lucky enough to experience a show in person during her first year and is looking forward to seeing the designs again on the runway.
“I’m definitely super excited to get back to the in-person shows, because I think they’re a lot more fun and festive. It feels like you’ve actually done something,” said Jones, whose collection is inspired by the American West, with lots of leather, suede and rich colors.
“And I have a family coming, which I look forward to,” he said. “And this collection is my main application piece, in terms of applying for jobs after college, so I hope it all works out.”
Level 3 designer Maisie McDonald ’23 works on one of her looks, made entirely from second-hand sweaters, deconstructed and sewn together to create one-of-a-kind fashion pieces.
Maisie McDonald ’23, a designer at Level 3, is all about sustainability in her designs. How much does she value the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) in her work?
“All of my designs reuse post-industrial or post-consumer fabrics or parts,” she said. “And I’m really inspired by the materials themselves. I feel like I can’t sketch something without having specific outtake material in mind.”
His line will feature second-hand sweaters deconstructed and sewn together into creations that are as much art as clothing or, as the reuse of discarded materials in jewelry, art and fashion has been called, “trash.”
“I’m working with a lot of stuffed pieces,” McDonald said, “so my collection is meant to be super fun, like commenting on body standards and just having fun with the clothing and turning it into a piece of art.”
Tents will be set up in the Arts Quad a couple of days before the show, Matson said. Dress rehearsals are planned for April 23-28 in the run-up to the event, which is open to the public.
Source: news.cornell.edu