Since moving to Buffalo almost 4 years ago I’ve attended a few fashion shows in Western New York. I love seeing fashion on display in our tight knit community and was thrilled to attend the afternoon showing of the Buffalo State Fashion Show: Ecolution on April 16.
My favorite part of the event was seeing how different each line was that the students created. It was not your traditional fashion show, despite the T style runway, judges -including Kirby Marzec, Accessories Editor at Teen Vogue- and seating arrangement.

There was something for everyone. The designs and materials were all over the board. Harsh and soft. Modest and provocative. Neutral and neon.
The models were both men and women, short and tall, had traditional long legged physiques and big beautiful figures. There was even a collection for 55-75 year old women. My biggest complaint about fashion in general is how excluding it can be. There are supposed rules and recommendations based on age, weight, body type, gender, etc… yet this show was all inclusive! With an eco focused show, embracing recycled materials, I wasn’t expecting such a progressive approach. It was quite a pleasant surprise.

My friend Natalie served as my honorary photographer at the Buffalo State Fashion Show. She helped me take behind the scene photos and gave me an alternative perspective when looking at the designs.
As the sole blogger of Clearing PREPPY‘s Name it should be no surprised that I paid close attention to the preppy trends at the show. There were many classic a-line dresses, pleated skirts and ruffled tops scattered throughout the collections.
I was drawn to the romantic looks too. I found it hard to believe some of these were made from scraps. Also as college students I can’t imagine their budgets were very large, yet these pieces truly looked high end.
These dresses were some of the most beautiful ones to photograph on the runway. They flowed wonderfully as the models walked.
If I was judging this show, first place would have had to go to the geometric themed line. I was so impressed. I felt like designer Megan Luongo’s senior capstone looks would flatter anyone’s body type and I would wear ALL of these separates and outfits. Everything looked so chic and retro, yet ready-to-wear and completely up to date with current trends -crop tops and high waisted pants/skirts yaaaaas- all at the same time. She described the collection as geometric and futuristic. I’m not sure what it really is about this look, but I wanted it all, from the gorgeous periwinkle color to the giant plastic button closures in back.
Overall I would say the ninth annual Runway show at Buffalo State was a success. As college students that were learning about all of work that is involved in a fashion show (while on the job for the first time) they were still working out quite a few kinks at the afternoon show. I have faith that with time and practice they will continue to improve and I am already looking forward to Runway 10.0 in 2017.
Congratulations to all of the Fashion and Textile Technology students involved and thank you for bringing some more fashion to Western New York.