Forty-three students strutted down the Johnson Hall atrium April 7, to beats like “Top Down” and “Controller” by Channel Tres, during the modeling auditions for the April 25 TENS Fashion Show in Cannon Plaza. Student designers from on and off campus will showcase their collections of 6 to 10 designs each, according to creative director Tori Iturralde (junior). Iturralde said the show, organized by members of the media production companyCollective Creative, is aimed to showcase Occidental’s style and make networking in fashion more accessible to students.
“[The show] welcomes Oxy students regardless of race and size and height,” Iturralde said. “[Whatever] the modeling expectations from the industry are … the point is to break out of that. And I think we are going to accomplish this.”
The Inspiration
Ablai Kabash (senior) said it all started with a conversation at a bar between Haowen Luo (senior) and the founders of Collective Creative.
According to Kabash, the idea of a fashion show had been simmering for years. The seniors said they were disillusioned with the lack of fashion-focused events and curriculum on campus, despite a glaring interest in fashion among students.
Luo said he saw potential.
“They were so passionate about it, and I was like, ‘So what’s the deal? Which step we at?’ And they were like, ‘Oh, we’re at step zero.’ I was like, ‘Okay let’s get to step one,’” Luo said.
Luo said they reached out to the Theater & Performance Studies department and Art & Art History department to promote the event. They also sought creative input from the Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture (CSLC) Student Association, according to Kabash. Peter Charkalis (junior), who leads the CSLC Student Association, said that fashion can be seen as a presentation of the self and an insight into one’s worldview.
“The more time you spend thinking about [style] the more you refine it to something that better expresses your own sense of individuality, ” Charkalis said.
Charkalis said that Occidental has an especially fashionable student body.
“On average, people are probably better dressed here than they are at a lot of other campuses. I think that’s because of LA. There’s more of a connotation of obsession with appearance,” Charkalis said. “In a way, that bleeds into student expectations of being cool.”
Charkalis said that there can be anxiety associated with using fashion to fit in, but there is also an innocence to finding community through clothing and en-vogue brands.
“If you look around campus, a lot of people wear Carhartt, a lot of people wear Dickies,” Charkalis said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just another form of communication for people to bond together.”
Kabash said that the fashion industry can be frowned upon for its exclusivity, but the TENS fashion show intends to redefine fashion’s role in artistic expression.
“Fashion as an industry is always a very tricky one, and one I feel that people need to learn how to navigate in,” Kabash said. “Haowen and I are in a position where we need to provide everyone with the best way that fashion could work on campus.”
Kabash said a typical barrier to entry into fashion shows is the fee charged for designers to showcase their looks.
“This [show] will be free for all designers, free for all models,” Kabash said. “[For] any designer who’s afraid of showing their clothes or doesn’t know how to do it, I think it’s very helpful.”
The Designers
Iturralde said Collective Creative is collaborating with the Fiber Arts (FARTS) club to showcase Occidental fashion, with Sydney Neff (junior) and Abigail Panzica (senior) showcasing their crocheted accessories. Neff said they will be collaborating with Chantell Thompson (senior), who runs the brand Kusarigama.
“The point of [my brand] is that anybody regardless of their personal style — whether that’s alt, thrift, Y2K — can find something that I make that can express their style,” Neff said.
Designer Rey Ramirez (first year) said he wants to tell a story based on the last 11 months of his life. He said he has used his clothing to recreate Clueless scenes on campus.
“It’s exciting putting people in my clothes,” Ramirez said. “Now it’s going to be in front of a live audience.”
Designer Oscar Petter (senior) said he likes one-of-one clothing and uses fashion as a way to express himself.
“I doodle in class and try and put those designs onto garments,” Petter said. “Right now I just make clothes for myself … I think I’ll see links between the clothing that I don’t see when I’m just wearing them one day at a time.”
Petter said that every model had a unique walk and way of expressing confidence.
“It’s cool seeing these people I know then walk,” Petter said. “I’d never seen that side of them.”
The Models
Eyes on the camera, Andrew Masciarelli (junior) glided past the panel of designers during the Sunday afternoon model screening. Masciarelli said that before auditioning for the show, he had never walked down a runway before.
“[It] was a nerve-wracking experience,” Masciarelli said. “I was the only gay person in my high school — very small-town — so fashion quickly became a way to express myself, and I really just tried to channel that here.”
Ori Brown (first year) said he signed up to audition because he was interested in exploring different gendered clothing. Elizabeth Kugler (first year) said that she wanted to use modeling as a way to explore her height.
“Everyone my entire life has always been like, ‘You should play basketball, you should play volleyball, you’re so tall,'” Kugler said. “This is an area where my height can be used to an advantage in a way that I want.”
Raina Pahade (senior) said they came to the casting after having modeled for various individual projects, including walking for the Bohemia & The Wolves show.
“I’m an artist myself, so I like being a part of other people’s creative processes,” Pahade said.
Laura Bookstaver (senior) said that she has modeled for various individual projects and had sent in headshots before the modeling industry shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I like being able to wear art, I think that’s really beautiful,” Bookstaver said. “Anyone can be a model.”
Robbie Piper (first year) said he left the industry after modeling for three years in high school but was interested in re-exploring fashion in a new and supportive environment.
“[At] 15 and 16 years old, five 40-year-old men were saying everything wrong with my body,” Piper said. “I hated it for so long … That doesn’t seem like it would happen at Occidental.”
Piper said that he admires how his generation is appreciating more niche beauty.
“Especially nowadays you see really unique types of beauty in different eyes, and crazy bone structures,” Piper said.
Piper said that he was conscious of how a model’s disposition will guide a designer in determining if their fit belongs to the individual. He is familiar with his style, he said.
“It’s not really high-fashion, but I’m here for poolside. Either that or Hugo Boss,” Piper said. “I’m either Venice Beach or Berlin.”
The Show
The April 25 TENS fashion show will take place in Cannon Plaza, where Kabash said the lighting and carpet will bring about an elaborate atmosphere. He said he envisions a spectacle of collaboration.
“There’s going to be a lot of chaos happening backstage,” Kabash said. “20 models changing outfits, 10 designers telling them how to do it.”
Kabash said the first hour will be dedicated to socializing, the second hour will be the show itself and the third hour will consist of connecting with the designers.
“All the designers [will] come out with the clothes they displayed, and then some,” Kabash said. “They [will] just get to talk to people, maybe sell some of their clothing [and] inspire other designers.”
Luo said that beyond the designers, stylists and creative directors, the audience members will also have the chance to express themselves and explore the runway.
“For the models who couldn’t be casted into the final run … they can always participate in the fashion show as part of the team,” Luo said.
Kabash said that he hopes that the show will spark a tradition of building community through fashion at Occidental.
“[Everyone] has put their best foot forward,” Kabash said. “It makes me really happy.”
Contact Yanori Ferguson at yferguson@oxy.edu
