The bright lights of Times Square, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Central Park among other iconic parts of New York City will be the inspiration for fashion collections created by Western Wayne High School students for their yearly fashion design competition. These designs will be a featured part of the Catwalk for Hunger fashion show event to take place Wednesday, June 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Western Wayne High School Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 1970A Easton Turnpike, Lake Ariel, PA.
The event that is open to the public is called Catwalk for Hunger because along with the evening being an opportunity for student designers to compete and show their fashions all proceeds will be donated to the Wayne County Food Pantry. Admission is $1 for students and $2 dollars for adults.
Sophomore Abigail Black is collecting the money from the event for her senior project and worked closely with Carmody to ensure that all proceeds go to those in need through the Wayne County Food Pantry.
Abby is highly interested in fashion design and helping those in need. Therefore, she thought this would be a great way for her to incorporate her senior project into her studies at Western Wayne.
Show director and fashion teacher Colleen Carmody is excited for the community to join her and her students on Wednesday evening, June 6 to support a good cause and see the beautiful work they have created.
“The students are looking forward to sharing their creations with the public and have worked hard to prepare for our show,” Carmody said.
Carmody explained how there will be much for the community to enjoy at the Catwalk event. She explained how there will be two senior displays outside the auditorium doors featuring information about advanced students seniors Kayla Fitzpatrick and Cailin Brown along with a display of clothes and bags created by Western Wayne Introduction to Sewing students.
The show itself will feature pieces that students in her textile, fashion I, and fashion II classes have created and chosen to show.
Along with these pieces, the highlight of the evening will be collections created by fashion students working in teams. She said the overall theme of the event is Fashion News. Carmody explained that newspaper will be used for some of the show decorations and that even some of the dresses will be made of newspaper and magazines.
Although Fashion News is the overall theme of the event, students working on collections for the competition portion of the show will have to make sure that their pieces reflect the specific theme: New York City.
The students had about two days to work to prepare these collections after Carmody revealed the theme on Monday, June 4. At this point, Carmody assigns the students to teams and they work together to come up with sketches and a list of materials to buy for their pieces.
Students then shop for their materials on Monday evening to prepare for their construction day on Tuesday. Finally, at about noon on the day of the show the students have their collections judged in the Western Wayne District Office.
Carmody will reveal the results at the evening show. Students will also have the opportunity to present their show to the high school student body on Wednesday afternoon.
Junior Victoria Petrosky explained how intense the preparation is for the competition portion of the show since students have a short time to come up with their unique creations.
“You just have to focus and get it done,” Victoria, who plans to study fashion in the college, explained. “It is key to trust your team.”
Fellow junior Isabel Valentin agrees that focus is important.
“Getting everything together for the task is challenging,” she said. “We really have to concentrate to push through and sew all of the garments in a set time limit.”
Senior Kayla Fitzpatrick, who will study fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles in the fall, said there is one essential factor to success in the competition.
“You have to be good under pressure,” she said.
Along with being excited to show her designs for the competition portion of the fashion show, Kayla is also excited to show her pieces from her senior collection.
Kayla’s brand name for the collection is ITFITZ, a play on words using her name.
“Mrs. Carmody helped me come up with it,” Kayla explained. “I think it’s perfect.”
Kayla explained how one of her favorite garments is a pair of red palazzo pants that she describes as both professional and out there.
“In my collection, I played with a lot of volume,” Kayla said. “I would describe my designs as bold and unapologetic. I am using a lot of red colored lights for my portion of the show and my designs will be modeled to music by artists such as Meghan Trainor. I am using her songs “No Excuses” and “Can’t Dance.”
Fellow senior Cailin Brown’s collection will also be on display. Her brand name is CEB, also incorporating elements of her name. However, Cailin’s portion will feature an opposite feel compared to Kayla’s. Cailin’s collection highlights colors found in nature. She described her fashions as “earthy and edgy with a modern touch.” Her favorite piece is a flowing earth-toned skirt.
Along with seeing exciting fashions from the students’ senior collections, the public will also have the opportunity to see a variety of fashions that Carmody’s students have created throughout the year in their design classes at Western Wayne.
One of Victoria’s favorite garments in the show is a black and white checkered jacket that she designed.
“It is busy but has a business feel,” she explained.
Fellow classmate Isabel’s favorite showpiece is a flowing jacket that features black and red Japanese cherry blossoms.
“I like the length because I prefer wearing jackets that flow behind me,” Isabel said.
All of the students are excited for the public to come out and see the designs they have worked on this year. They cordially invite the community to attend their show and donate to the Wayne County Food Pantry through their admission fee.
