The Making of a Fashion Show: A Deep Dive Into the Fashion Collective
By Sophia Zhang
Editor-in-Chief
The 2025 Fashion Show was quite the spectacle. With its theme of Seasons, audience members saw various looks styled by the brilliant minds from the Fashion Collective, John Abbott’s fashion club. Since Jared Visario, the president of the club and the Creative Director behind the show, is graduating, it is possible that the fashion show might not be back next year (although Visario’s successor, Aidan Costello, will certainly plan something just as grand for the club). The event was an enormous event that required much planning from Jared. While making the show was hectic and stressful this year, the remarkable outcome left many in awe.
Many people worked on the runway event within the Fashion Collective. There were numerous positions such as stylists, models, photographers, videographers, people in charge of marketing, DJs and Mixers, Dancers (from the JAC dance club and Allure), general helpers, and the Collective’s executive team. As such, the show was the result of months of planning and hard work, spanning the end of last semester up until March 28th, the date of the showcase.
After the massively successful show last year, which featured Cyberpunk and Academia, this year’s theme was Seasons. As such, every outfit was themed around one of the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Between each season was an introductory transitional video. The idea behind the fashion show having a theme was to differentiate it from last year’s. The 2025 show can be firmly known as the “Seasons show,” as a unique entity.
From the stylists I interviewed, creating an outfit seemed to involve a Pinterest board for inspiration and a lot of thrifting and customizing. One stylist sewed artificial flowers onto green cargo pants for their Spring outfit. For the models, the experience was slightly different. Having to walk on the runway, the models must be confident and stay calm under the pressure of the bright lights. Although they don’t have to worry about dressing themselves, it can be nerve-wracking to parade yourself in front of a sea of people. Moreover, since most models wore multiple outfits, they were kept occupied the entire show.
In addition to being a fantastic experience for students, both as viewers and club members, the proceeds of the Fashion Show will go to Fashion Takes Action. This nonprofit organization aims to reduce overconsumption and promote sustainable clothing. To accomplish this, they are looking into sustainable and recyclable clothing alternatives to ensure the eco-friendly future of the fashion industry. Fashion, especially fast fashion, has a significant role in the fight against climate change, which is what Fashion Takes Action aims to fix.
The Fashion Collective offers various workshops and activities when it isn’t planning a show. For example, they did a workshop to teach models how to walk, a sewing workshop, jewelry customization, photoshoots, a denim customization workshop, and much more! The club is about expressing yourself and promoting sustainability, as it advocates for second-hand shopping. It is also a place where people can find community through their shared interest in style. Fashion can be more than the clothes we wear; it is a form of self-expression, and the Fashion Collective is the place to go.