The Cantab Wears Prada

For an entire week, the Mac Quad, home of frisbee and IM sports, has been dominated by a large, white event tent. It is to house the second annual Project East fashion show, hypothetically keeping attendees safe from the New England elements. Yet bad news arrives on Saturday night when the National Weather Service announces a flood watch for Cambridge. By the time doors open for the show the lawn is becoming a muddy mess. The tent can’t prevent the water from soaking the ground, and audience members find themselves walking through mire that sucks their shoes down.



Kristin S. Kim ’09, one of the founding directors of Project East, recalls that they have seen worse when it comes to weather. The year before, a hurricane decided to roll through the night of the show. The directors had to reschedule it to the afternoon of the next day.



“We never get a break,” she says with a laugh.



Timothy W. Parent ’09, the other founding director, is bluntly realistic about getting people inside the muddy tent. “It’s a logistical nightmare,” he says.



Despite the unfortunate circumstances, the directors have managed to organize an event of prodigious ambition. Only in their second year, the directors’ vision of featuring prominent and up-and-coming Asian designers in an annual fashion show is gaining recognition as something more than just another student-run project. This year, the show will bring together professional Asian designers, such as Issey Miyake, as well as students and alums from The Parsons School of Design.



According to the Project East finance director Ivy A. Lee ’09, the show itself costs around $30,000, and they expect to raise $150,000 at the end of the day. Sponsors range from Macy’s to Red Bull. Given such high stakes, a serious attitude dominates the show’s operations—from the music mixed and produced by Michael R. Polino ’11 to the posture of the student models, many of whom are new to the business.



“The models are all very professional. I was so surprised,” said Angela Gao, one of the designers. She would know what “professional” looks like; a New Yorker and a recent graduate of Parsons, she has been involved with shows for DKNY and Doo-Ri Chung.



But what keeps Project East running is much less glamorous: the simple hard work and countless hours spent in preparation and planning.



At the model fitting the previous Saturday, Project East has moved the furniture and rugs in the Winthrop JCR to create an impromptu runway. Racks of clothing sit by the windows as the models try on different outfits. There is only one mirror in the entire room, and even that one ends up falling and cracking. The models seem to be running mostly off the feedback from the directors and each other.



As models line up to practice their walks, Parent sits at the end to comment on each one. “Cross your feet more.” “Slow down a bit.” “Your head’s moving too much.” The music suddenly turns bass-heavy, and he shouts to the music director across the room, “We don’t know if we’re going to be able to use that intense stuff.” It promptly switches back to mellow.



As one of the founders of Project East, he knows what this event requires. On the one hand, he’s involved in most of the activities taking place in the JCR, walking from corner to corner to check on shoes or jackets, occasionally stopping to tell a model, “That looks really good on you.” But on the other hand, Parent’s job is also keeping people in line.



“This is serious shit,” he reminds everyone.



Despite the hectic mood, Parent remains optimistic. “We spent a year and a half literally starting from nothing,” he says of the first Project East. “Compared to last year, we’re in a great place.” He points out that the staff has tripled in size, that the designers are of a higher caliber, and that this time around, he actually has some experience organizing a fashion show.



But after amassing all this experience, what will happen to Project East once Parent and Kim graduate this spring? “I hope it will continue. I’m hoping,” is all that Kim can say.



Part of what drives the directors is their commitment to bringing the world of fashion to Harvard. They stand as a counterexample to the stereotype that Harvard is square—the Globe picked Parent, Kim, and Lee as three of the “25 Most Stylish Bostonians” in 2007—and the opportunity that Project East provides is a unique one.



Sonia S. Dara ’12, an experienced model even before coming to college, takes a break from the final rehearsal on the day of the show to comment on the benefits for someone interested in fashion.



“I’ve been able to make a lot of connections and build relationships with designers,” she says.



Davis H. Moore ’10, on the other hand, is completely new to modeling. Sometime in October, he had heard from a blockmate that Project East needed male models, and he signed on. Although he doesn’t see much fashion in his future, trying it out in college hasn’t hurt.



“I’m definitely not gonna regret it,” he says.



And for the many students who have come to the MAC Quad on a Saturday night, they don’t have regrets either, regardless of the rain. A few minutes after 7 p.m., the audience has settled down, and the lights have been turned off. With everyone sitting, the mud ceases to become an issue, and even the weather seems to calm just in time. The work that the directors, designers, and models have put in is about to pay off.



Suddenly the music starts up, and the room erupts with applause and cheers. The first model struts down the runway.