Stereotypes and Stilettos

Hot bodies and up-to-the-minute fashions aren’t exactly what Harvard students expect to find when wandering around campus on a winter night.

But chic duo Janet L. Kim ’04 and Michelle T. Young ’04 are doing their best to change that. They are co-producing Contradictions, a charity fashion show event that they hope will promote style and raise money to fund breast cancer research.

Kim and Young—New Yorkers who plan to pursue careers in the fashion industry after graduation—have been rather disenchanted with the lack of exposure to fashion on campus. They complain that even amidst the urban culture of Boston, Harvard has no outlet for imagination and design in the area of style. The two hope their show, which will be held this Saturday night in the Pforzheimer House dining hall, will change that.

“We’ve got hot models,” Kim and Young boast, with broad smiles. Auditions were held several weekends ago, and the producers ultimately selected 20 female and 10 male models to saunter down the catwalk. “We made an effort to recruit a diverse array of looks and body types,” Kim says. The two scoured their lecture classes for potential supermodels and found an overwhelming number of students who wanted to audition. The show’s participants are excited to infuse a little fashion into Harvard life. “It is pretty disappointing, when you have people from so many cultures, that there’s such a lack of originality,” says model Theodore L. Wright ’04.

Kim and Young have been extremely dedicated to the project, devoting their time to establishing contacts and organizing details with their charity, the American Breast Cancer Society. Though Kim complains that “most of the big companies reject you,” the duo was able to convince several well-known names, along with many more up-and-coming designers, to donate their fashions. The show features the styles of Barbara Bui, Miss Sixty, Laundry, Suchada, Joseph and Fat Little Bear—and a few of Kim’s own designs. The Contradictions show will also include a segment with traditional international fashions on display, as well as a variety of cultural acts to round out the event, including salsa dancers, a Korean drum troupe and several other dance groups on campus.

Whether or not Vogue follows up with a feature article, Kim and Young are satisfied with their experience. “We’re just having a really good time,” Kim says.

Tickets will be $5 in advance (available at the Harvard Box Office) and $7 at the door, with all proceeds going to support research for breast cancer. There will be two shows on Saturday at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.