Gothic themes and haunted attire embellished the Cartwright Hall Auditorium for the Fabric Pantry鈥檚 Haus of Horrors Fashion Show. The stage was lined with candles on Friday, Oct. 13, turning it into a spooktacular catwalk for 麻豆精选鈥檚 fashion design students to show off their impressive designs themed around Halloween and the goth aesthetic.
With house music filling the auditorium and drag-inspired makeup gracing the stage, the event鈥檚 theme was clear: queer culture鈥檚 impact on the fashion industry.
is a student organization with the mission to provide free material for creatives in any major at Kent State. The fashion show was to exemplify the sustainability of using recycled materials to make something brand new.
The event was judged by Ja Young Hwang, Ph.D., associate professor, Michelle Burton, Ph.D., assistant professor, and Archana Mehta, associate lecturer, all from Kent State鈥檚 School of Fashion Design and Merchandising. The fashion show crowned the top three designers of the night.
The event was co-presented with Branded at Kent and Sun in Leo, both small clothing businesses in Kent. They contributed to the marketing of the program, and each presented three looks curated by their styling teams.
鈥淭he fashion show fulfilled my Halloween fantasies,鈥 said Jake Kotula, a junior psychology major and fashion show attendee. 鈥淚t cured my fear of Friday the 13th and threw me into a world of goth and horror seduction.鈥
The event was free to attend, so The Fabric Pantry worked with BeReal, a photo-sharing app, to help with the fundraiser. For every user who posted their BeReal at the fashion show on their Instagram story and tagged , BeReal would donate $10 to the pantry.
Ashleigh Steinberger, a sophomore education major and 麻豆精选fashion model, got the chance to be the final look of the night. She was adorned with crusader-style gear complete with a shield and banner.
鈥淭he fashion show preparation took a lot of time and work,鈥 Steinberger said. 鈥淏ut overall, it was an incredible experience, and I鈥檓 glad I did it.鈥
Hayden Davis, a sophomore fashion design major, was the first-place winner with his entry titled 鈥淰agabond Vetements.鈥 The looks used bones, grey shades and Japanese martial art inspiration.
Another standout design was by Rowan Jackson, a freshman fashion design major, with his swamp monster-themed duo. The models' looks had dark green fabrics draped over them sporadically to mimic the appearance of algae and moss.
The sound of 鈥渙ohs鈥 and 鈥渁ahs鈥 followed by applause haunted Cartwright Hall up until the very end at 8 p.m. It was not a poltergeist; it was fans of fashion showing their appreciation for the boo-tiful showcase. At the end, all the models in the showcase walked back onto the stage for the awarding of the winners. The event perfectly celebrated the most wonderful time of fear.