Imogen Taylor goes behind the scenes of The Bailey Charity Fashion Show. She discovers the creative vision of the show through discussions with Aga Oledzka, the Creative Chair, and finds out about the show’s charitable association.
The Bailey Charity Fashion Show is one of the many exciting events that John’s students can attend, being a marked date in the calendar for many. Whilst in previous years the event has been held in the summer months, this year the TBCFS committee have brought the fashion show to the end of Lent term; it’s the last hurrah of John’s events before the looming exams of May.
The Creative Vision of TBCFS
This year, the vision of the fashion show is to ‘experiment with the meaning’ behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s (otherwise known as the Met) themes. The Met is an art museum in New York City and is the largest art museum in the Americas and the fourth largest in the world. Many may know of the Met Gala or Met Ball which is an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Met’s Costume Institute. The six themes that are included in TBCFS from the Met are:
- About Time: Fashion and Duration
- Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
- Fashion in an Age of Technology
- Punk: Chaos to Couture
- Art of the In-Between
- Camp: Notes on Fashion
Aga Oledzka, the Creative Chair, says that by exploring the meaning behind these themes, the showcase will ‘delve into the true meanings of different trends and styles and show how different movements have tried to break conventional styling barriers.’ When deciding upon which particular themes to select from the many in the Met’s catalogue, Aga decided to choose themes that demonstrate a variety of fashion styles and textile media. She added that during the show, the compères will detail the meaning behind each theme quite thoroughly.
Here’s a breakdown of the six themes:
About Time: Fashion and Duration
About Time ‘reflects on the impact of fashion from a historical perspective’. The creative team have incorporated traditional patterns and clothing designs into modern wear and this spans fashion from 150 years ago to now.
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
‘This theme can be controversial, but it was included to prompt discussion about religion. Understanding what’s allowed and what isn’t.’ The designers have taken inspiration from the Vatican, celestial figures and the seven sacraments of the religion.
Fashion in an Age of Technology
This element of the show will spotlight ideas of fast fashion and how the creative designers have produced hand-made garments and machine-made garments. This feature is quite monotone in colour and embodies ‘modern materials and science into fashion, reflecting how it may develop in the future.’
Punk: Chaos to Couture
‘Punk brought deconstructivism in fashion in the 1970s. It’s anti-establishment style and anti-high fashion.’ The pieces included in the show will include ‘graffiti and agitprop, destruction, hardware and what some might consider trash.’
Art of the In-Between
It ‘traditionally focuses on challenging conventional notions of beauty wearability and fashion ability’. The designer, Rei Kawakubo, who inspired the Met theme uses an array of bright colours, florals and varying textures which the designers have aimed to embody in the walks.
Camp: Notes on Fashion
This is an ‘illustration of the queer community which is forever expanding and changing.’ The clothing for this walk will show a ‘conflation between masculinity and femininity’, dismantling the boundaries of who wears what.
The Charity
This year TBCFS are supporting the charity Student Minds which is an organisation dedicated to supporting students struggling with mental health, as well as challenging the higher education sector and the government to take mental health seriously. Their website notes that around one in four students report having a diagnosed mental health issue while at university. The charity hopes to empower students to build their own ‘mental health toolkit to support themselves and their peers through university and beyond’.
The charity recently released their findings from new research they conducted in November 2022, focusing on student’s mental health, the cost of living crisis and wellbeing support. Their key findings were:
- 1 in 3 have poor mental wellbeing, according to the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS).
- One quarter of students surveyed said they have a current, diagnosed mental health issue.
- 30% of students surveyed said their mental health had declined since beginning university.
- 59% of students surveyed said that managing money was a cause of stress ‘often’ or ‘all of the time’ – an increase of 13% compared to 2020/21.
- 1 in 4 students surveyed would not know where to go to get mental health support at university if they needed it.
These staggering figures show how important and valuable it is that TBCFS are supporting and bringing attention to such a cause. If you or anyone else is struggling, please contact:
John’s Student Support: johns.studentsupport@durham.ac.uk
Durham University’s Counselling and Mental Health Services: cmh.service@durham.ac.uk or 0191 334 2200
See Durham University’s official guidance for Student Support and Wellbeing https://www.durham.ac.uk/colleges-and-student-experience/student-support-and-wellbeing/counselling/
Why should students go to the fashion show?
- It raises money for charity! Student minds is a great charity focusing on education and fighting stigmas about mental health.
- Talent! We have a range of student designers from Durham as well as from across the country. Seeing the talent brought together from people our age is mind-blowing
- Fun! We have a variety of entertainment and audience interactions included in the show so it will be a really enjoyable watch.
- Raffle and Auction! Our sponsors have donated vouchers and experiences which are a steal plus we are auctioning some of the clothes that have been designed by students and other pieces we have also collated (which are also a steal).
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