Roving Reporter: Identities Fashion Show

Last Saturday, the Identities Fashion Show turned Northwest Labs into a pulsing, energetic center of fashion and student creativity. This Crimson Roving Reporter sat down with several people at the event, exploring the inner mechanics of a fashion show and what goes on behind the models’ flawless smizing.

Cengiz Cemaloglu ’18, creative team member

Roving Reporter: What was your role in Identities?

Cengiz Cemaloglu: I am one of the creative team members for menswear, which involves choosing the clothing, choosing the designers, choosing the models, teaching them how to walk, choosing the themes of the section, choosing the music, and coordinating the logistics of shipping the clothes.

RR: There’s a particular emphasis on China this year. Why is that?

CC: This year’s show has a much more international focus. We wanted to showcase fashion’s global reach—how globalization has caused a dialogue between Chinese and American fashion. Everyone used to look toward what American fashion was and copy it in a way, but now a lot of focus is shifting to Asia, so we wanted to concentrate on that.

RR: The entire world erupts in flames, and you can only save three fashion items. What would they be?

CC: Definitely not underwear.... I think high heels are very aesthetically pleasing—they look good on everyone. I think it’s a strange thing to say, but I also really like the Turkish style of hijab. [Lastly,] dress shirts. I think dress shirts make a statement, and they also make you feel very important about yourself.

Garrett C. Allen ’16, model

RR: Can you tell me a little bit about what you’re wearing?

Garrett C. Allen: I’m wearing a long dress shirt with a ton of multi-colored rhinestones. It’s really heavy, surprisingly. It glistens and glitters—I would wear it to class. It’s comfy, I could fall asleep in section if I needed to, and [I would] wake up and sparkle. I’m also very excited for my motorcycle gear section—there’s lots of leather, and the designer even had us carry motorcycle helmets.

RR: What was the hardest part about training for this show?

GCA: We’ve been here since 10 a.m., first of all. And although it seems easy—it’s just walking—it turns out that walking is hard and it takes a lot of skill. The motorcycle gear designer was very particular about what he wanted—he wanted us to look very natural. You’re not marketing yourself, you’re marketing clothes. He was very particular about how to hold the helmets. But it all falls into place. This is my second and last year doing it, and I wished I did it the other years because it’s really fun. It’s a really nice group of people and I really love all the board members and creative designers. I really like fashion myself so it’s really cool to do something so fashion-centric on campus.

Katie G. Tutrone ’17, model

RR: Can you tell me about what you’re wearing?

Katie G. Tutrone: It’s a lot different than all the other pieces in my section. I kind of feel like I’m wearing an udder. It’s really comfortable. I feel like a giant stress ball—multiple stress balls. I kind of want to walk out of here with it.

RR: What was your initial reaction when you saw this look?

KGT: I was about to swear. I thought there was no way this was going to get on me. It looked so tiny on the rack, but it surprisingly fit over my head—it was a tight squeeze. I mean, it looks better than I thought. Still ridiculous, but not bad.

RR: I’m excited to see you walk in it.

KGT: I’ll probably walk with my hands inside these things and then pull them out so people will say, “Whoa! She has two sets of hands!”

Dajon A. Thomas ’19, model

RR: What made you want to get involved in Identities?

Dajon A. Thomas: I’ve always had a general interest in fashion, and this was a great opportunity to get involved in the process and [see] the development of this show.

RR: If you could only wear clothing made out of one food item for the rest of your life, what would it be?

DAT: I think it would be really cool to wear licorice. I would really like something black, and I really enjoy licorice.

Laura S. Chang, ’17, executive producer and head of publicity board

RR: How did you get involved in fashion?

Laura S. Chang: I was really fascinated by this interesting paradox in fashion where it’s seen as something really trivial but also as something really high end that we don’t really understand. Intelligence in [as in knowledge about] fashion might be seen as oxymoronic, but it’s absolutely not true. A lot of people at Harvard are actually very interested in fashion, and this is an amazing opportunity.

RR: What does fashion add to the Harvard experience?

LSC: It really helps widen perspectives and also allows people an opportunity they wouldn’t have otherwise. You can see our show isn’t like the typical modern fashion show where every model is waif thin. There is a lot of diversity in the models and designers.

RR: What is your favorite fashion faux pas?

LSC: I mix metals all the time. I mix brown and black.

—Staff writer Hanaa J. Masalmeh can be reached at hanaa.masalmeh@thecrimson.com.