Review: IDENTITIES is Changing the Face of Fashion
Anyone who’s followed news in the fashion world this year can attest to the dire need for greater diversity throughout the industry. Women are told they need to lose weight to model, and their bodies are constantly judged to fit size labels. Tokenism has often influenced the inclusion of racial minorities in major runway shows. Progress has certainly been made through efforts such as Aerie’s “Aerie Real” campaign and the rise of model Madeline Stewart, who has Downs Syndrome, but there have been few wide-sweeping changes on the international scale to ensure that models are a representation of the world at large. A holistic evaluation of high fashion fails to offer a diverse picture–statistically, the majority of models walking in shows for luxury brands are physically and racially homogenous.
If fashion is an art of the everyday, the canvas on which it’s presented is clearly a source of aesthetic conflict. On Harvard’s campus, IDENTITIES Fashion Show has approached fashion from the direction opposite of such exclusivity. It expands the boundaries of who can create and model high fashion by ensuring that its team members, models and designers are a reflection of the diverse community they share at Harvard and beyond.
“Celebrating diversity has always been a huge part of IDENTITIES and what we aim to do,” said one of four Executive Producers, Laura Chang. “This year in particular we truly zoned in on this value to produce our most international production yet.”
This “international production” started with a goal to “convey the complexity and beauty of the world citizen” through a blend of contemporary and traditional pieces. Designers whose clothing appeared in the show hailed from cities as close as Boston and far as Bejiing. The models, pooled from auditions of Harvard students, added to this globally diverse consciousness simply by participating in the show. No two women–nor men–walking in IDENTITIES had precisely the same look. The confident sharing of the runway between models representing more than the tall/thin/white crowd was inspiring–finally, a fashion show where the range of models truly coincided with the range of clothing.
Aside from its exemplary casting, this year’s show was noticeably more professional. For their tenth anniversary on campus, Identities hosted their annual show early this month in Northwest Labs; same location as before, but decorated for an entirely new vibe. A quick appraisal of the venue– low red lighting, sophisticated step-and-repeat, a shorter runway–hinted at a tone that was noticeably more polished than in past years. This year’s Identities was to be viewed as a Serious Fashion Show, a collegiate testament to the legendary productions of well-known designers.
And on the whole, it was. The Executive Producers gave a confident introduction at the show’s opening, and each segment flowed seamlessly into the next. And along with glamorous details fit for New York Fashion Week, IDENTITIES raised a compelling case for making fashion more diverse. Sitting in my Press seat, I often forgot my job as journalist for the evening, captivated as I was by my graceful, gorgeous peers asserting their ownership of space in the sphere of fashion.
But were the producers as pleased with the final show as spectators such as myself? “We were definitely happy with how the show turned out!” Laura said. “Like all major projects, there were moments of stress and unexpected circumstances, but the show ended up being a major success, and we heard throughout the night how our year’s show was miles ahead of any of the shows in years past.”
As a three-time audience member, I had to agree with Laura’s statement. This year’s show exceeded my expectations for both the looks curated and, more importantly, the community modeling them. While the Harvard models/students strutted to You’re not on the guest list, the tone of the evening aligned more with an invitation than those exclusive lyrics. Despite its birth in the conventional aspects of the fashion industry, Identities has created a far more forward-thinking, inclusive space to showcase this form of everyday art–and that’s something to applaud. I hope the “real” fashion world takes note.