A runway was set, artists watching their work take the stage, judges looking into the future of the fashion industry and an audience and host watching the magic happen. That’s what happened at the African American Textile Society’s (AATS) 27th annual Fashion Exposé. The event showcased students creating works and the skills they had developed all at once to spill onto the runway to win the hearts of judges and audience members alike.
The event was sponsored by Wilson College of Textiles, the Department of Textile Engineering, the NC State Black Alumni Society, Black & Belonging and others. Before the show started, attendees watched one of the sponsors, Black & Belonging, interview the crowd with enthusiastic charm. As the audience took their seats, the models and designers worked their magic from backstage.
The event began with a greeting from the host, Jaquan Scott, who set the tone for the event right away: a homey feeling partially created by Scott himself dancing on stage.
Scott introduced the three judges: Will Carter, an accountant; at the First Flight Venture Center, Ashley Davis, the Program Manager at First Flight Venture Center; and Stephen Satterfield, founder of the Whetstone Magazine.
For each round, five models came together to walk the runway presenting the designers’ work as music of the artist’s choosing played. Each designer also provided a mood board that showed the inspiration for each piece. The judges would then announce the winners of both categories at the end of both rounds.
The Novice Category
The first designer, Brianna Anderson, created a collection called “Florasion.” Anderson aimed to create pieces that were timeless and elegant. Each design featured flowers either in the pattern or in a fashionable headpiece.
The second designer, Melyn Hales, created a collection called “Echoes of the Past,” which embodied Chinese traditions and the bridge between past and present. The mood board provided a range of traditional Chinese clothing and patterns, sticking to the roots of the culture while also creating an interesting modern spin on them.
The third designer, Alli Jo LaFevers, created the collection “Something Blue.” She shared that her collection was inspired by the phrase ‘Something new, borrowed, and blue’ used in wedding traditions.
LaFevers wanted to create designs for future brides-to-be. The mood board showed off silk fabrics, romance and classic weddings.
The fourth designer, Neely Mallik, created the collection “Odyssey.” The entire collection showed off the raw beauty of travel. The mood board showed off many iconic travel aesthetics. All five models wore designs based on different locations, taking the audience on a journey through time and space.
The fifth designer, Isabella Miller, created designs filled with bright colors and a distinctly spring aesthetic for her collection “Lente.” Miller created the collection to honor her grandmother.
The ninth designers, Mariam & Sara Morcos, created the collection “Tiebiz,” blending business attire with streetwear. The mood board showed office aesthetics and street wear.
The tenth designer, Layla Nichols from North Carolina Central University, created the collection “Classically Refreshed.” The collection was dedicated to decades of African American history. The mood board provided showed famous African American figures throughout history.
Intermediate & Beyond Category
The first designer, Grace Chen, took the audience into the Intermediate & Beyond category with her collection, “In the Midst of.” The theme stated by the designer is chaos meets calm with a focus on structured elements in the designs.
The second designer was Serena Danieli from Meredith College, whose collection was a love letter to Tanzanian culture. Danieli strives to bring African prints into the mainstream. Every model strutted in a bold outfit thsat embraced different styles from African culture.
The fourth designer, Samantha Hackney, channeled the feeling of comparing yourself to others. All of Hackney’s designs reflect the insecurity everyone faces in life and turned this into five different outfits. Every outfit is a counterbalance in the works.
The fifth designer, Daniel Iman focused on the feeling of internal pressure. Iman spoke about the process of making a diamond; the heat and pressure that go into it. Every design reflected that feeling, referencing internal struggles.
The sixth designer, Sarah Grace Simas created a collection called “Pears in Bloom.” The entire collection is an ode to her childhood, referencing Fancy Nancy, a character from a popular book series. All of the outfits centered around finding yourself and features playful boldness. Fancy Nancy, is a figure who talks loudly and dresses boldly, which is reflected in every outfit.
The last designer, Sophia Stacy takes her design inspiration from where her first creativity flourished: ballet. Every outfit is an homage to iconic ballet performances. The music played during each outfit shown is from a corresponding ballet performance.
The audience was then sent into another intermission to prepare for the announcement of the winners. After a couple of minutes, the judges crowned the top three of each round. In the Novice category, third place was awarded to Brianna Anderson, second place to Layla Nichols and Neely Mallik won first place.
For the intermediate round, third place went to Sarah Grace Simas and second place to Daniel Iman. The overall winner of the category is Serena Danieli. The audience roared in applause for each designer. Designers huddled with one another, congratulating each other.
After the show, The Nubian Message met with one of Isabella Miller’s models, Elyssa Taylor:
Q: What is your role in this event?
A: My role in the AATS Fashion Expose was modeling for my designer, Bella Miller. I accompanied her along with three other models in this experience.
Q: What was it like working as a model for this event?
A: Working as a model was a first-time experience for me. So, I definitely felt the nerves in the moments leading up to our group’s turn to walk. I wanted to make sure I was showcasing Bella’s designs and craftsmanship in the way she intended.
Q: What was the process like leading up to this event?/What was it like working with your designer?
A: The process leading up to the showcase was quite tame compared to all the events of the day. Bella asked me to model in her collection after I went to the model casting for AATS call quite impulsively, on a rainy February evening. I agreed and felt confident that her work would be just so incredible because we are in the same cohort for our major, and I have always been stunned by her work. After I confirmed I would work with Bella and gave her my measurements, we met a few times in the weeks leading up to the show for fittings. This agreement worked well because we already shared a lot of classes, so it was easy for her to track me down. Then came April 10. The day was chaotic in the most fun and exciting sense of the word. We were assigned a table among rows of other tables to get ourselves ready, with a rack for the garments to the side. My group was one of the first to enter, so we sat down in the mostly empty room. I watched as groups trickled in and filled in the empty tables the calm before the storm. Eventually, the room was full, and people whirled around my table in their poofy dresses and intricate hairdos and full glam makeup. The funniest thing to me was that my course enrollment window was planned for as soon as we were getting into it. So there I was, surrounded by people in these wonderfully crafted, breathtaking outfits, registering for calculus classes. We had started to get ready, too. I went to the nearby bathrooms in Talley to change into my outfit. You can imagine what the women’s bathroom looked like at a time like this: people clustered at the sinks doing their makeup, people changing in the stalls with clothes draped over the doors, and models inspecting their look in the full-length mirror. I returned to the main room from the bathroom excursion in my white and pink floral outfit. Bella’s lovely mother had come to aid her in the whole grand process, helping with a variety of things, including doing the models’ makeup. The inspiration for all our makeup looks was a 60’s Twiggy look with dramatic lashes and colorful lids in pink and yellow. I absolutely love getting my makeup done, and Mrs. Miller did a masterful job.
The AATS Exposé was a display of deep emotions and passion. The hard work put into every design could be felt by every model that wore the clothing. The judges even admitted how hard it was to judge the outfits after the show. Every designer displayed a deep part of themselves through their work, creating bonds with the models in the process of the show. That is the African American Textile Society’s 27th annual Fashion Exposé experience.