Lunar Gala Looks to “Yesterday” To Celebrate Forward Fashion
Carnegie Mellon University's 24th annual Lunar Gala highlighted the theme "Yesterday," on March 2 with 16 lines of fashion designs. From designers to models and production and creative teams working behind the scenes, more than 140 students helped create this year's show. This year's producers were Michael Powell, a fifth-year student in architecture, and Ugnė Žiaušytė, a senior in biological sciences, and the creative director was Jonathan Perez, a first-year student in design.
A line inspired by the movie "Black Swan," "Repartus," uses a corrupted swan image and dark aesthetics. The styles vary from mild silhouettes to dramatic and untamed ones. At the center is Jessica Timczyk, a junior in English and human-computer interaction. The line was designed by Sean Meng.
Each year Lunar Gala provides an opportunity to experiment with fashion and materials. Some of the designs this year incorporated LED lighting, including this hat being modeled by Audry Stuart, a sophomore in art. The outfit was designed by Arden Wolf, a junior in art, and Samantha Ho, a senior in design, as part of their "Organic Xanax" line.
The Flora fashion line by Rachel Park, a fifth-year architecture student, was inspired by flowers such as the dandelion, sunflower, rose, chrysanthemum, baby’s breath and phlox. Joanna Wickersham, a junior in electrical and computer engineering, modeled one of the dresses.
Models enter Wiegand Gymnasium in the Cohon University Center, which was transformed into a catwalk for Lunar Gala. The show included 16 fashion lines, including Veil, shown above, which uses vibrant colors and transformative sheens to reconstruct the imagery of women's bodies while considering body dysmorphia. The line is by Vincent DeRienzo and Leah Kendrick, both seniors in architecture.
In keeping with this year's theme of "Yesterday," an outfit was designed from cloth kitchen calendars and worn by Liam Van Oort, a senior in design.
Ian Thomas, a sophomore in business administration, was among the models as part of the "Spaces Corners" line by IZ Horgan, a sophomore in art.
Korey Henderson, a senior in biological sciences, and Bill Gao model a line by Junwoo Cheong called "KO;LN," which were influenced by Cheong's personal beliefs on religion.
Patrick Huang, a junior in computer science; Michaela Laurencin, a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering; and Jiaqi Wang, a first-year design student, work controls for filming Lunar Gala. The entire show was livestreamed, and is archived on the cmuTV's website.
Students prepare backstage for Lunar Gala.
A model carries an accessory as part of the "Organic Xanax" line by Samantha Ho and Arden Wolf. The line was a study of consumerism through the material of LED signage and showcased forms of advertising as part of digital culture.
Students relax backstage before the show.
This year's producers were Michael Powell, a fifth-year student in architecture, and Ugnė Žiaušytė, a senior in biological sciences.