F&LS debuts annual fall fashion show, “Future Relics” | Culture

Western’s Fashion and Lifestyle Society’s annual fall fashion show hit the runway on Saturday night in the Thames Hall atrium. 

The show drew almost 275 attendees, with proceeds benefiting the London-based non-profit organization Single Women in Motherhood. The organization is committed to offering hope, support and guidance to single mothers in London.  

Fourth-year mechanical engineering student Claire Francis directed the fall show themed “Future Relics” and wanted to focus on the cycle of design. Francis explained that designers are always looking to the future, while reflecting nostalgically on past concepts of innovations.

“The 60s space age was so new for its time, and now we look at it with nostalgia,” said Francis. “We’re constantly designing for a future that will eventually be overlooked.” 

Francis took inspiration from 1960s space-age media and retro-futurism, an aesthetic that reflects the past’s idea of the future and technology. 

Satin shirts and dresses in jewel tones, glossy leather jackets and 70s-style shirt collars brought a vintage flair to the runway.  

Alternatively, models in soft, flowy and layered garments in muted earth tones took a look towards the future of fashion. Francis said that fashion is all about expressing yourself and the changes people go through, especially as part of the student experience. 

“I think as a student in university, you go through so much change,” said Francis. “[With clothing] you get to show the transformation that you’re experiencing on the inside, on the outside.” 

Some of the clothes worn by the 30 models on the runway were provided by the show’s sponsors, Goodwill and DugOut Vintage. 

Reet Sidhu, F&LS president and a fifth-year ivey business and JD dual degree student, emphasized the importance of clothing as a form of self-expression. 

“I think the clothes you wear just tell so much about who you are as a person,” said Sidhu. 

Sidhu explains that people who express themselves through fashion make other people feel inspired to do the same. 

“People like that are what create safe spaces at Western and I think create community,” said Sidhu. 

While the fashion show mixed old and new aesthetics, Sidhu highlighted another focus was supporting a meaningful cause. 

As a volunteer who conducts legal research at the Single Women in Motherhood organization, Sidhu assists women facing challenges like eviction, custody and homelessness. 

“I thought it’d be a great fit to be able to take the proceeds of something that I love and cherish so deeply, which is this fashion club, and put it towards something else that I also see a lot of value in supporting,” said Sidhu.