Benefit fashion show at Calvin
Designers and models from several area schools will come together at Calvin College on Saturday, March 10 for a benefit fashion show.
Proceeds from "FLIGHT: A fashion Show Benefit" will go to Park High School in Grand Rapids, where pregnant teens can continue and complete their education.
While the show is free a freewill offering will be taken at the door for the benefit of Park School.
The subtitle of the show -- which will begin at 8 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center at Calvin -- alludes to the first-time collaboration between the organizers of Love First, which held its first show in 2005, and the Fashion Advisory Board (FAB) which was founded last year to promote an approach to fashion that is both creative and Christian.
"I've been to every show they've had," says Cheryl Brown, a key organizer of Love First about FAB. "I love what the designers do."
For the "Collab" show, Brown is handing the FAB designers a challenge: to execute six designs created by two student designers from Rockford Middle School, where she serves as a mentor.
"Each year we’ve showcased either a high school student or a college student in their fashion designs,” says Brown. “This year we thought it would be cool to showcase a middle school. And I thought it would be a really good idea to have the designers from FAB receive the pictures from Rockford Middle School and bring these designs to life.”
“They’re very creative, and they’re very good designs,” says Calvin student activities coordinator Erin O’Connor, who is helping to plan the show. “This is something that’s not considered a usual career path. Imagine how you would feel if someone did this for you when you were in middle school! I think it’s really a big deal.”
The show will also feature clothes donated from The Buckle, Jade and the New 2 You Shoppe, modeled by students from Calvin and other schools.
Previous Love First fashion shows have benefited Haiti and Sudan.
Brown said she chose Park High School out of a desire help out in Calvin’s immediate neighborhood.
“This year, people felt that our funds should stay home in America,” she says. “Home could also mean Grand Rapids, and what better place to start something than at home? There’s always stuff going on in your own back yard. Here you have Park High School teaching people how to raise their kids-not only how to raise their kids, but just how to keep going. We sometimes need to open our eyes and look around us a little bit more.”
