Cambridge Dictionary describes ‘soul’ as “the spiritual part of a person that is not physical and experiences deep feelings and emotions.” I have always found this idea intriguing. Luckily enough, I got to experience various interpretations of this concept, combined with the artistic expressions of fashion, dance and music, at the Fashion for Change showcase.
Fashion for Change, formed over a decade ago, is a student-run, non-profit organization best known for hosting charity fashion shows in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. By combining various forms of artistic expressions such as drama, dance and music with fashion, they have been successful in raising over $100,000 to date. For this year’s fashion show, they partnered up with Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region, a disability service agency working with innumerable individuals and families to make this city a more inclusive and progressive community for everyone.
In the F4C display, the performers and designers explored the idea of ‘SOUL’ with seven different emotions: joy, sadness, love, greed, resilience, anger, and fear. By highlighting the fluidity and fickleness of human emotions and how overwhelming they make us feel, the artists charmed the audience and kept them hooked from the very start. The displays of clothing were supported with dance performances that best portrayed the artists’ interpretations of the said emotions. From upbeat music to lowkey and slow tunes, they had it all. They customized their choice of songs to their audience, university students, giving us our favourite artists like SZA and BØRNS. The entire crew put their best foot forward and gave us a wonderful show; it’s difficult to even pick favourites!
Her Campus at Waterloo is so proud of the work that Fashion for Change and Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region are doing, and we encourage you to check them out on Instagram at @fashionforchange and @eafwr respectively.