On April 26, Kent’s Walkway Gallery transformed into a runway as student designers presented their original fashion creations. According to Ms. Lynch, the fashion show does not happen every year— it really depends entirely on the designers who come forward and the amount of work they produce.
This year’s show featured four student designers: Adriana Malik ’27, Kate Blaicher ’26, Olivia Lyu ’27, and Jocelyn Wan ’27. Ms. Lynch explained that Kate worked on the designs for the longest, producing ten looks over two years. Adriana and Jocelyn were first-time designers and will continue to design and showcase their works. Olivia actually painted on her dress to showcase her work as an AS Oil Painting student instead of an AS Fashion Design student.
The process for each designer starts with an idea, often presented through sketches. Ms. Lynch helps students order fabric and supplies, then guides them through pattern-making and construction. Some designers, like Kate, chose to reuse existing materials. “Kate is very environmental, and the fashion industry really is a pollutant overall,” Ms. Lynch noted. “A lot of our young designers are thinking: I don’t know if I want to buy anymore, let me reuse what already exists and redesign it.”
Adriana, meanwhile, earned national recognition. Her winning design, Edges and Borders, required a rigid, geometric structure. Ms. Lynch happened to have a flexible propylene substance in storage, which allowed the dress to hold its shape without being uncomfortable. That design went on to win a gold medal for the Scholastic Art Awards for Connecticut.
One student designer, Jocelyn, shared her personal highlight from the show. “My highlight was that my dad came all the way from China,” she said. Her favorite part, however, was the soundtrack she created at 3 A.M. Designers chose their own music and handled all styling.
Ms. Lynch noted that while construction made the show challenging, the team figured out how to set up the curtains and extra chairs. “We filled all the chairs. I think we had double the participation we had last time.” She was happy that so many people were there to see the results of the students’ work: “The hardest part is for people to understand how long people have been working on this,” Ms. Lynch said.
