With the exam hall doused in a hazy purple and pink glow, the doors opened into the night to welcome students to Trinity College’s Fashion Society’s Fashion Show aptly titled “Silhouettes”.
Offering an exploration of gender via its catwalk, the show combined the work of designers Claire Garvey, Gabrielle Malone, Grainne Rigney’s “Le Grá” collection, Seeking Judy, Aoife Lifestyle, Aine Elizabeth designs, Mar Knitwear, Aisling Duffy, Nimiiny, Isabella Tierney, The Zero Waster, and Eimear Kennedy Design.
“These designers, a blend of recent graduates and industry professionals, are united by their emphasis on sustainability, merging environmentally conscious design and sustainable materials”
These designers, a blend of recent graduates and industry professionals, are united by their emphasis on sustainability, merging environmentally conscious design and sustainable materials, to pave the way for a conscious and careful Irish fashion industry.
Trinity’s Fashion Society – more commonly known as simply ’fashion soc’ – was established relatively recently in 2009, and has made quite an impact both in the university scene, and on a national level – garnering over 9,000 followers with online impressions of over 315,000 people on Instagram alone, it comes as no surprise that such an elaborate production should be completed to such a high standard, and features designers either currently, or who inevitably will be world renowned.
As the crowd took their seats, the room electric with anticipation, Fashions Soc’s chairperson Amelia O’Toole introduced the event.
Offering an exploration of gender within the next hour, O’Toole hoped the show would echo how “the fashion industry is challenging gender categories.”
The band began to play, the room swelling with the acoustics, and as the music swelled, so did the anticipation; the door of the hall swung open, and the show began.
The Feminine
As the models flow through the doors, the first section of the show, “The Feminine”, is perhaps best described as elegant, graceful, and laden with grace.
Shades of pink, blue, deep green, and white capture the audience’s attention as the music lays a foundation on which the models walk.
The silhouettes presented before us range from a swaddling, ballooned form almost consuming the models, to loosely draped fabrics offering a relaxed form for the audience to enjoy.
The performance set before us is emphasised by the grace of the models themselves, with the first taking the time to pose with arms in fifth position, and another allowing her arms to glide at her sides.
This presentation of the feminine is careful, and delicate in tone, dripping with elegance as the models are presented before us.
However, this elegance is contrasted by the strong, determined gazes of the models themselves, looking deliberately to the audience as though to dare us to stare back.
“The confidence of these students draws the audience inwards, calling on us to watch and question; a siren to our attention, leaving us parched for more”
The confidence of these students draws the audience inwards, calling on us to watch and question; a siren to our attention, leaving us parched for more.
As the music begins to fade, the door closes on the first act, and the feminine is laid to rest in place of the masculine form.
The Masculine
The band seamlessly merges with a synth wave, indicating that a fundamental shift has occurred in the art laid before us.
Indeed, as the door swings open, drawing the eyes of the audience into the night, the figures emerge.
What is most striking is perhaps the contrast of colour laid before us.
Dark tones, black draped with red accents, dark shades surrounding the eyes of the models themselves, are presented to us; the masculine in form.
For some of the pieces on display, the silhouette remains hidden, with only a whisper of form shown to us through opaque, layered garments or hints of shape through draped fabrics.
Once again, the actions of the models themselves allude to their hidden force as they present the clothes before us, with some pausing midway down the path of the hall, lingering as they walk back to the door, allowing us to further revel in the presence before us.
With some of the pieces before us presented with something of a shredded effect, and some knitted, suggestions of more formal attire, the masculine is presented to us as a varied form, complemented by colour and confidence.
Once again, the music swells, and the door sweeps shut, signalling the presence of the final act.
The Merging
“As the show enters its final form, it becomes clear that the gender binary is in the process of deconstruction, with the distinction blurred along the lines of form and silhouette”
As the show enters its final form, it becomes clear that the gender binary is in the process of deconstruction, with the distinction blurred along the lines of form and silhouette.
The music swells, and the door swings open to usher in the denouement.
This section sees dramatic struts down the catwalk, swaggering steps and strides laden with stark confidence.
The models punctuate their performance with challenging gazes into the audience, catching the eyes of the audience as though to question what it is they are seeing, daring the audience to answer the question: “what is it you think you are seeing?”
The models revel in the limelight down the length of the exam hall. Brazenly stepping with hands firmly on hips, or running through their hair, we see a further exploration of a silhouette by expanding it in space and playing with movement within the form created.
The fourth model in this segment strolled, arms held outwards, to allow the full glory of a glistening peacock-esque to consume the form of the model. The colour consumes the silhouette presented to us, and the audience is left to marvel in the expanded form.
A seemingly masquerade themed piece offers a glittering and joyous blend of form and texture, once again, expanding the silhouette beyond a tailored portion.
Similarly, the penultimate model emerged with grace, a feather delicately expanding the silhouette upwards, drawing the audience’s eye beyond the physical form.
The pieces presented to us often show a deconstruction of sorts; be it giving the illusion of a shredded piece, or a deconstructed layered piece.
However, every once in a while, the array of models is punctuated by a fitted, almost formal outfit, reminding us of the theme of the night.
Finally, the final piece of art is paraded before us: a white, regal number, with a train gliding carefully behind the model. Expanding the silhouette in length and form, the audience is left to contemplate the varying forms, textures, and layers set before us as the white fabric fades from view.
