By Gray Chapman
Fashion Haus, SCAD-Atlanta’s student club for all fashion-interested students, will be hosting their annual runway show on Saturday, Feb. 28 in the 4C space. The show, which is entirely student-run, will feature the designs of approximately 30-40 student designers.
The theme of the show is “Behind the Seams,” giving students an inside look at the life of a fashion student at SCAD-Atlanta.
“Basically, we want to show people what goes on behind the scenes of an actual day working in the fashion industry,” said Fashion Haus president Thomas Gaddis, a fourth-year fashion student.
Gaddis spoke of the multimedia presentations that will accompany the runway show. “We’ve had the school videographer [Peter Svensson, production manager] come around our meetings and classes to show what happens in Fashion Haus meetings and what we do at school. There’s going to be a video presentation presented right before the show starts,” said Gaddis.
“We’ll also be showing static images from the upcoming Atlantic Station photo shoot, which will be a collaboration between the fashion and photography departments,” he added.
Rita Watson, a fourth-year fashion student and historian of Fashion Haus, added that the theme will be integrated into the entire show. “The theme will play upon all of the excitement and beautiful chaos that goes on backstage during high fashion shows,” said Watson. “The entire show will be a performance in and of itself from the minute you walk into the room.”
According to Gaddis, students from nearly all levels – from graduate students down to sophomores – will be presenting designs, ranging from four to five piece collections to just one piece per student.
“The more advanced students, like the seniors and the graduate students, are going to have more pieces in because it will reflect their progress,” said Gaddis. “It’s a great variety of work, mostly ready-to-wear pieces. They reflect us and the school as far as the quality of the work.”
Students are in charge of nearly every aspect of the show, from setup and lighting to the runway photography. “It’s a great chance for students to collaborate,” said Gaddis. “Anybody can be involved in Fashion Haus; there are many different majors that are a part of it. We have students from nearly every facet of SCAD, from graphic design to interior design to animation.”
The only part of the show that won’t be led by students is the hair and makeup, which will be handled by Paul Mitchell. “Paul Mitchell actually has a big hand in a lot of what Fashion Haus has done in the past,” said Gaddis. “This will be the second year they’re doing our Fashion Haus show, so hopefully this partnership will continue.”
The show is just one of the many fund-raising events that Fashion Haus has coordinated in the past several months. “Our biggest event last quarter was overseeing the Festival of Trees we did in coordination with the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta,” said Gaddis. “We did two trees – one with pink origami and one with a bodice – and it took up the entire quarter and a good bit of money. But it was definitely worth it.”
Fashion Haus also recently organized the Valentine’s Day event in the Hub, the Cupid’s Haus Ball. “It was amazing — we rocked the bank! We earned about $650 by auctioning off everyone we could find,” said Gaddis.
Luckily for SCAD-Atlanta students interested in attending “Behind the Seams,” Gaddis and the other members of Fashion Haus took the rough economy into consideration when deciding on ticket prices, which are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. “We didn’t want to raise the price too much, because we still want it to be affordable — especially for the economic times we’re in now,” said Gaddis. “We didn’t want someone who can’t come because they have to pay for food and supplies instead.”
Overall, Gaddis said he feels confident that the show will be a success. “It’s such a variety of work, and everything is so nicely put-together,” he said. “It’s going to be a great show.”
Watson also said she’s looking forward to seeing the results. “We’re anticipating this years show to be the best so far. We’ve had a lot of great response and collaborative effort throughout the entire department.”
“Behind the Seams” will take place on Saturday, February 28, in the 4C event space. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door.