The Fashion Student Organization displayed their annual Goodwill fashion show Friday evening featuring designs inspired by a garden party.

“We were talking about Saltburn, and someone said garden party,” Jessica Duraj, vice president of FSO, said. “We loved it and decided we were doing it.”

Deciding on the theme was just the beginning of what it took to plan and execute the show, Duraj said.

“It takes a lot of planning with event coordinating,” William Perrine, advisor of FSO, said. “The university getting the chairs set up the way we want it, making sure we have enough chairs, making sure the lights work, getting the AV people to come in and making sure the music and microphone works, all of that stuff.”

The show’s production went exactly how they had envisioned it, Perrine said.

“It ran very smoothly because we’re back in Rockwell, and this is our first show back here in several years since the remodels, so we had everything we needed in the building already,” he said. 

The show displayed 26 student designs, all thrifted and up-cycled.

“We let people sign up to be designers, models and stylists to work front of house, back of house or literally whatever they want to do. As long as they’re a member, they’re allowed to do whatever they want,” Duraj said. 

She said the members had total creative freedom, and all they had to adhere to was the garden party theme, and make sure the work was thrifted and up-cycled.

“I originally got the set from Goodwill for a 70s fashion show I had, and I just up-cycled it into a matching three-piece set,” student designer, Lenora Mercurio, said about her green garden party design worn by model Hallie Haycook.

With designs that incorporated forks, different patterns and were attentive to precise details, creative up-cycling was at the heart of the show.

After the show, judges decided on which students stood out to them. The top model was awarded to Emily Johnson, runner-up went to Megan Sideri and best in show was awarded to Katherine Klein. All three winners received a bouquet of flowers for their work.  

Perrine mentioned all of the money raised from the show went toward two FSO scholarships.

Laci Schritz is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].