February 2nd marked the kick-off of New York City fashion week, and while
models draped in luxury gear sauntered down the runway at Bryant Park,
our own Hart House was host to similar festivities. U of T’s Top
Model Walkoff was the University of Toronto
Fashion Group (or ufashion – small
u)’s first major event, and indeed the first event of its kind
– a modeling contest by and for U of T students.
An audience of mostly students lined the
walls of Hart House’s music room, which had been converted
overnight into a simulated catwalk. A judging panel sat at the end
along with a host of photographers ready to snap the models as they
posed, while across the room an MC and a DJ sent the models off with
quick comments and loud beats. There were no designer wares being
touted – ufashion’s Walkoff emphasized personal style, with models
showing off their own wardrobes. The girls modeled self-styled outfits
in categories inspired by local sites and neighbourhoods:
Queen Street/Kensington Market, Yorkville, the ROM, the Beach, and Casa
Loma. These, supplemented by a free “personal style”
category, allowed contestants to fully showcase their assets:
creativity, poise, brains, body, elegance and fashion sense. Between
walks, the U of T Dance Club performed three “exotic”
dances, to a soundtrack of Latin, reggaeton
and hip-hop.
The models, many of which would fit right in
on a Toronto Fashion Week catwalk, were selected via audition. They
included winner Angelina Drake, a lithe beauty from Florida, Elena Soboleva,
former beauty pageant contestant and second runner-up, and the stunning
Randi MacQueen,
first runner-up and official fan favourite.
The other four participants – Karina Vilner, Marnie Spidla, Rebecca Dunham and Yinsey
Miller – put up a tough fight, but the final votes went to the
judges.
U of T’s Top Model was not only
intended to provide students with an opportunity to ogle their physical
superiors; it was an attempt to pay homage to personal style. “I
felt fashion shows were so overdone and not unique,” says Taige Zhang, head of ufashion
and creator of U of T’s Top Model. “So I did some thinking.
Every day I wake up and I have to figure out what to dress. What should
I wear today to look good? Looking good really depends on your fashion
sense more then anything else. And everyone has their own style, some
people’s are better than others. So this event was very much
based on the idea [that] we are all designers and models because every
day we have to create an outfit and show it off.” The event was
Zhang’s brainchild, but it was directed mainly by ufashion President of Activities Inja Kim (Jason Song, President of Members,
provided additional guidance).
Though ufashion
– which is affiliated with New College – has existed since
November of 2005, this was the club’s first public event. Judging
by its reception, it won’t be the last. “The response was
amazing. Everyone loved it. People didn’t have high expectations
of it coming in – maybe it was because of my shoddy ticket
cutting skills. The only bad part was that we didn’t let the
audience vote for the winner. Many people and models I talked to only
had that complaint, because they felt the
winner wasn’t a democratically selected one… we’re
always learning from our experiences. It’ll be better next
year.”
Zhang formed ufashion
in an attempt to unite U of T students with similar interests and
expose students to the fashion industry at large. “What I was
trying to achieve was a niche club where students with similar
interests could find each other based on an interest in fashion instead
of program, race, or religion as many groups are. I have a few contacts
in the fashion industry and started going to fashion shows (Toronto
Fashion Week), which at first seemed so unreal and incredible to me
[that] I wanted everyone to attend one to see it in person.” The
group has since sold Toronto Fashion Week tickets to U of T students,
attended shows collectively and invited guests from the Canadian
fashion industry (Juma and Vawk thus far) to speak to its members.
Although ufashion
holds fast to some democratic ideals – bringing high fashion to
students that wouldn’t otherwise know where to find it – it
is, as Zhang explains, a “high-end club” above all. Unlike
most campus clubs, ufashion charges a $30
membership fee. “I feel most people into fashion are relatively
rich,” Zhang explains. A former Future Business Leader of
America, he sees ufashion partly as an
entrepreneurial exercise: “[I wanted to] see if I could use all
that I’ve learned in my Commerce Program and marketing class to
effectively brand and position this group.” There are practical
reasons for the fee as well. “With higher membership fees, you
get members to actually come to your events and meetings, and you
filter out all those that aren’t serious about it. You get that
community feel because members aren’t always disappearing like in
some horror film… we get more money for the club, which allows us
to give more benefits to our valued members. Plus, it keeps the group
size down. We don’t want too many members because that defeats
the purpose of a niche and high-end group.”
Ufashion is hoping to make U of
T’s Top Model an annual event. Before next year rolls around,
however, the club has plenty in the works. “We’re working
with the U of T Bookstore to put on a contest, [which will] allow
students to create two student-designed t-shirts to be sold at the
bookstore. They need that student involvement,” Zhang, who names
Ralph Lauren as one of his favourite
designers, reports. “And we want to see better clothes. Haha.”
Ufashion membership is open to all.
Find out more at http://ufashion.sa.utoronto.ca.
