Illusion. Retouching. Underpaid garment workers and stolen designs – these are among the difficult truths that comprise the illusion rampant in the fashion industry. The average consumer is unaware of how the fashion industry operates. “Illusion” is also the title of Marist College’s 35th Annual Silver Needle Runway (SNR) fashion show produced in 2021. The first SNR was produced in 1984, and the event continues to increase in production value every year. The student-produced show is an opportunity for senior fashion design students to showcase their designs. In last year’s show, students successfully executed a professional fashion show with a comprehensive branding strategy all in the midst of a global pandemic. Similar to other predominantly white organizations existing at the time, SNR 35 was rebranded to be more socially conscious in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter movement. SNR 35 strives to “create a digital community that champions creativity and innovation, diversity, leadership and social responsibility” according to the show’s website. However, SNR 35 provides an inaccurate depiction of diversity and inclusion.
A mere rebrand is insufficient. SNR 35’s commitment to promoting diversity included a newsletter, promotional videos, a short film and a podcast. Entire teams were devoted to creative direction, communication, production and branding of the fashion show. Previous shows even hired professional models, photographers and makeup artists. SNR 35 was the first to replace these professionals with students. Marist Fashion’s “Measure” magazine – also produced by Marist students – was sold at SNR 35. According to an email by fellow Marist student Juneve Porceillo, all of the runway and print models of the magazine were compensated, except for the cover model of Measure. I know this because I was the cover model. A photoshoot lasts hours and requires strenuous work, yet it is an industry standard for cover models to not be paid in exchange for exposure. Marist Fashion exploited this idea to avoid fairly compensating all models. Considering that Ralph Lauren is among SNR 35’s sponsors, Marist Fashion can afford to change the status quo. If SNR values diversity, why does the organization continue to use traditional sample size models?
Marist Fashion perpetuates outdated, eurocentric beauty standards – a lesson that begins your freshman year at the College. Incoming fashion students at Marist are instructed on how to create garments for a small, but standard, subset of female sizes: dresses 0 – 4 and heights 5’7” and taller. Senior fashion students, now comfortable designing for unrealistic sample sizes, continue to do so. However, many of the clothes to be modeled at the fashion show are designed with these traditional sample sizes. Most of the female models cast for SNR are tall and skinny because most of their outfits are made to fit tall and skinny people. SNR 35 and Measure’s model casting poster states “all dress and pant sizes are welcome,” but their lookbook reveals a different story. Presenting a dearth of plus-size models, their poster also requires female models to be at least 5’7” – an antiquated industry standard. The average height for a woman in the United States is 5’4”. I wonder how many Marist student designers themselves have the proportions to wear the apparel they crafted. The cycle of maintaining eurocentric beauty ideals continues after graduation. The average runway model is 5’8” at a minimum, and a size 4. While the fashion industry has made strides toward diversity in front of the camera, most of the industry’s progress is still in commercial fashion. The homogenous body types prevalent in high fashion send a clear message to those who do not fit these eurocentric ideals: you are not welcome here.
