The UNITY Charity Fashion Show platformed Northwestern student designers and models at its escapism-themed fashion show at Seven Star Venue in Chicago Thursday.
The student-run organization partnered with Snow City Arts for the event, a charity that engages children and young adults in hospitals through in-person and virtual workshops centered on the arts. As this year’s beneficiary, all proceeds raised from UNITY’s ticket sales went to the charity.
“Snow City Arts is a really special organization,” Weinberg senior and UNITY co-Executive Director Isabella Grau said. “They really align with our mission of making art an equitable space for a lot of people, as they help hospitalized children participate in the arts.”
This is UNITY’s second year partnering with Snow City Arts. Grau said the sold-out fashion show was able to raise about $5,000 for the organization.
SESP senior and UNITY Brand Director Victoria Wade said contributing to the charity and its mission was “wonderful.” Wade and other club members had the opportunity to meet some of the children supported by Snow City Arts. Wade said that for the kids, the arts are a form of escapism.
In addition to charity, Medill senior and UNITY Co-Executive Director Jade Garcia said in her opening speech that the club has another, equally important mission: encouraging diversity and inclusion in fashion.
“UNITY wants to recognize the unattainable and Eurocentric values often promoted by the fashion and modeling industries,” Garcia said. “We are committed to showcasing real people and deconstructing the idea of who is allowed to model and design.”
UNITY’s inclusive mission is realized through sewing and other fashion-related workshops they hold throughout the academic year, helping aspiring designers learn skills they might otherwise not have been able to. The club has taken on new designers, some of whom have had little to no prior experience sewing.
“It’s super cool, because I’ve never really done anything like this before until last year, which was my freshman year,” Weinberg sophomore and UNITY student designer Cecilia Jacobson said. “It means a lot.”
Jacobson’s piece, a layered black dress with trails of fabric that draped from the garment, walked the runway with other pieces in the UNITY line to close out the show. The UNITY line showcased pieces from various student designers part of the club that interpreted the escapism theme.
The club also collaborated with non-UNITY designers, some affiliated with NU as current or former students, and others independent of the university but based in the Chicago area. These featured designers showed collections of clothing instead of just one piece, with each set of garments showcasing their unique styles and creative visions.
Featured designer and McCormick first-year Scarlett Yu displayed gowns in all sorts of bright colors and floral motifs — all made of nothing but tissue paper, tape and reinforcing materials. Yu’s collection had a tropical air to it despite the mundanity of the materials.
Other guest designers played with garment structure. One designer showed loose, billowing garments in dark hues that were criss-crossed with ribbons of color, as if bursting out of the black.
This abstract and conceptual collection was followed by the feminine and fierce designs of another guest designer, Evanston resident Lanecse Johnson-Jones. Each designer’s unique interpretation of the escapism theme and their personal approach to fashion resulted in a diverse, but cohesive show.
“Even though it was stressful, and even though you were like, ‘I’m gonna make such a f–kass-’ or- ‘I’m gonna make a piece I’m not gonna like,’ it’s about completing it,” Communication junior and UNITY Creative Director Agnes Bijole-Himes said. “Like, seeing your work as a part of something.”
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