A fashionable pivot

Fanshawe’s annual Unbound fashion show adopts a “watch party” format

Photo, clockwise from top left: Fanshawe fashion design graduating students Amanda Boni, Elorm Afewu, Anita Gurung and Madelin Terjko

THE SCHOOL OF Design at Fanshawe College and the graduating class of the fashion design program are gearing up for a new direction for their annual Unbound fashion show. Presented by Fanshawe Sustainability, this year’s digital show will focus on sustainability, offering a variety of styles that utilize various aspects of sustainable fashion.

Originally slated to run as a live show at Museum London, faculty and students had to quickly regroup and rethink the format of the show due to COVID-19 and social distancing rules. Moving from a real-world platform to a digital “watch party” format, Unbound 2020 will take the form of a film that will showcase designers, collections and processes.

“Unbound 2020 Zero Waste marks an important direction for Fanshawe’s Fashion Design program. The future of fashion is one of innovative and sustainable design practices that respect and honour our natural resources on this planet that we call home,” said Loren Carriere, professor and event co-ordinator of Unbound.

 “This forced pause offered us the opportunity to reflect, re-evaluate and innovate as we came together as creatives to form a community of faculty and students to rethink fashion,” continued Carriere. “What emerged from this collaboration was a powerful message for a new zero-waste sustainable fashion digital experience.”

The film’s focus will be on elements of zero-waste production, empathetic design and designing for use. Designs have been hand-crafted through fabric manipulation, hand-sewing and embroidery. Collaboration between several Fanshawe programs continues to remain at the forefront of the show’s grassroots.

Local radio station 103.1 Fresh Radio is supporting the Unbound 2020 fashion show and will host the Watch Party on their website on Friday, May 1 at 8 p.m.