F@B'S 2022 ANNUAL RUNWAY SHOW: Fashion@Brown’s 2022 Annual Runway Show: Threads & Threats
Emma Noel
Link to the livestream recording of Fashion@Brown’s 2022 Runway Show: Threads & Threats.
After months of dedication and countless long nights, Fashion@Brown’s design team and the entire organization’s hard work came into fruition Thursday night at the Granoff Center Martinos Auditorium. A culmination of Brown’s 2022 Fashion Week, the runway show punctuated two weeks of over twenty celebrity and guest-speaker events. They ranged from designers, models, activists and everything in between. Needless to say, the anticipation for the runway show was at an all time high.
Immediately upon arrival at the venue, crowds of people lined the Grandoff Center’s interior in rows of stand-by lines, each person hoping to have the fortune of admission. A completely sold-out event, each seat in the auditorium was filled by 7:40 p.m. This year was Fashion@Brown’s 12th annual show and their largest runway show to date, with over thirty student designers involved across the two campuses of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. The music playing over attendee’s banter gave strong allusion to the incredible show that was about to take place. The Runaway’s “Cherry Bomb” and MGMT’s “Little Dark Age” asserted this year’s theme, Threads & Threats, before the catwalk had even begun.
At 8:00 p.m. the lights dimmed throughout the auditorium and the audience’s chatter ceased. After a brief video presentation, Fashion@Brown co-presidents Celia Heath, Emma Rosenkranz, and Sydney Taub entered the stage. Greeting the audience, each president shared sentiments regarding their final terms as president.They then handed the mic over to the event directors, Natalia Brown, Madison Hough, Brandon A Ulin, Grace Moore, June Dike. It was a surreal moment of gratitude and acknowledgement for the show, being F@B’s first in-person runway in the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and the largest event to take place in the Granoff Center. Finally, the design directors, Elise Carman, Shyam Arya, Seabass Immonen, and Laura Perlmutter came onto the stage to introduce Threads & Threats and commence the show.
The work of over thirty student designers, some of whom had no sewing experience prior to joining Fashion@Brown, walked, danced, and tiptoed across the stage with over one hundred student models, making up seventeen incredible and unique collections. If the numbers aren’t impressive enough, the clothing truly spoke volumes for themselves. Incredible gowns and dresses, intricate matching knit and crocheted sets, and even sculptural garments (one with model houses attached to it that lit up) graced the stage. Detailed corsets, crisp pleated and gathered trousers, mesmerizing bodysuits, chainmail armor, and deconstructed hoop skirts wowed the crowd and stirred up an incredible acclamation of crazed fans. The program, which can be found here, includes process images from each of the collections along with the designer’s descriptions. The program also includes a list of all participating designers (in order of appearance in the show), as well as the photographers, models, and makeup and hair artists. You will also find a link to the live-stream recording at the bottom of this article for those who missed the show or want to revel in its glory once again.
On a personal note, my stumbling upon Fashion@Brown’s 2021 (virtual) Fashion Week deeply inspired me to join the team this past Fall. After being part of this year’s Brown Fashion Week, I am incredibly blown away and look forward to what next year will bring. Until then, you can find me attending the design team’s free workshops where people of all experience levels are welcomed. I highly recommend you try one out!
Designers:
Shyam Arya (Brown 2024)
Phoebe Dragseth (Brown 2024)
Nora Cowett (Brown 2024)
Kaila Zimnavoda (Brown 2024)
Aurelia Cowan (Brown 2023)
Carla Humphris (Brown 2024)
Vivian Li (Brown 2025)
Alec Lippman (Brown 2025)
Emma Zwall (Brown 2025)
Lily Seckendorf (Brown 2024)
Camille Leung (Brown 2024)
Claire Chasse (Brown 2024)
Vincent Terracciano (RISD 2024)
Revyn Kim (Brown 2024)
Deborah Cherman (Brown 2025)
Shira Wolpowitz (Brown 2025)
Joshua Koolik (Brown 2024)
Neshima Vitale-Penniman (Brown 2025)
Cameron Astles (RISD 2023)
Julia Terra-Salomão (Brown 2024)
Angela Snider (Brown 2024)
Cynthia Wang (Brown 2025)
Seabass Immonen (RISD/Brown 2023)
Karinn Stellato (Brown 2023)
Sue Sima (RISD 2024)
Laura Perlmutter (Brown 2022)
Ellie Madsen (Brown 2022)
Elise Carman (Brown 2023)