Author: Nicole Biton & Alison Spandorfer
On Saturday March 14th, hundreds of Cornellians flocked to Barton Hall for the Cornell Fashion Collective’s 32nd Annual Runway Show. The show featured original designs from students across classes, entirely modeled by their peers. While the evening itself was flawless (minus a squirrel that decided to walk the runway in Barton), tremendous effort went into making the show as amazing as it was. We sat down with the CFC seniors to discuss the highs, lows and heroes of the preparation process:
Eleni Toubanos, CFC President
High: The highlight for me was watching my fellow seniors show their final collections. I’ve been involved in CFC for four years, and to watch their amazing collections so strongly reflect their personalities has been so rewarding.
Low: I wished I could have supported the designers more to help make their full visions a reality. I definitely had to make some sacrifices that I didn’t want to.
Hero: Gimme! Coffee from Gates Hall! The short walk was always helpful when I was stressed. Also, my inspiring e-Board and advisor never failed to make working towards this event enjoyable: we ended every meeting laughing and dancing.
Brooke Barnett, CFC Vice President
High: The most rewarding moment of the whole production was standing backstage and watching each level of designers line up before their turn. The excitement and pride the designers and models felt was contagious. It was incredibly special to have a part in each designer’s big moment.
Low: When we ran out of show programs! Although it was exciting to know so many people attended the show, I wish we had enough for every guest. We will definitely order more next year!
Hero: My hero was Eleni! Her unrelenting positivity, optimism and leadership throughout this entire year is truly what made the show such a success.
Catrina Corley: American Rome
High: The high point of this process was the end result: having a cohesive collection and hearing cheers from the crowd after the show. I did not expect so many people to not only cheer but also give me so many compliments afterwards.
Low: It was hard to get everything done in time for the earlier show date – it felt like everything that could go wrong did. My car was in the shop for three weeks, which really slowed me down. The day of the show was also insane. Between a two-car standoff on Forest Home Bridge and two yahoos holding up traffic, I almost missed the show!
Hero: The CFC E-Board for tolerating all my setbacks, my models (even those who didn’t get to walk the runway), Diane and Dikshing of Thread Magazine for the amazing hair and makeup, and my boyfriend for almost forgetting to give me my flowers when I walked the runway. I also couldn’t have done it all without Kim Cornish – she was the difference that helped me complete everything in time for the show.
Rae Dagdagan: Episode II
High: Ooh, this is so hard to think about right now. I have to say my high would be watching everything come together, when you can finally see the concept on the models as a whole.
Low: Probably the time constraint. The show was a month earlier this year than it had been in past years, so it required us to make quicker design decisions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but that’s how it is.
Hero: Brandon Wen.
Caroline Donelan: Triumph of Will
High: Definitely dress rehearsal yesterday! It was so exciting to see everything come together – it gave such a sense of satisfaction.
Low: I had some materials printed from a company, but there was a misprint so the whole process took so much longer. I was really stressed about time, but in the end it all worked out.
Hero: Cappuccinos from Manndibles!
Linnea Fong: Abbeyance
High: My high would definitely be waiting backstage during the show and the anticipation I feel right before sending my first model down.
Low: There have been a lot of sleepless nights, and I can’t say I didn’t have a meltdown as reality sent in in the last week. But all the stress has gotten me to where I am now, so I’m grateful for that.
Hero: All of my friends for supporting me and coming to the show.
Riley Kilgraff: Celo
High: Probably right now, watching everyone get ready and seeing it all come together.
Low: The beginning was stressful because I was overwhelmed by how much I had to do. But nothing went horribly wrong – I got pretty lucky.
Hero: Iced coffee – anytime, anywhere.
Greta Ohaus: Octavius
High: Each critique was really stressful, but the steps I’ve taken to get here has made the whole thing worthwhile.
Low: Probably last night, when I had gone over 48 hours with no sleep.
Hero: Black iced coffee, gummy bears, and my mom.
Robin Reynolds: Depth
High: When I got to see all my models at the dress rehearsal looking so incredibly beautiful. It was the first time I saw all the models in a group and I was surprised at how cohesive they looked.
Low: The low point of the week was definitely stitching a pair of pants on my model backstage and cutting the hem, then stripping into an outfit in the wings so that I was presentable despite still wearing yesterday’s makeup.
Hero: My heroes of the week are definitely the alumni of our program who so kindly helped me with last minute details. I’m very indebted to Lea, Vanessa and Brandon who literally swooped in and finished things I never could have done in time on my own. Behind the scenes help from Grace, Eva, Keri, my sister Kristina and my mother Karen was also priceless. I would also like to thank the seniors and their families who were so supportive throughout this whole process!
