SUNY Oneonta Students Prepare To Take the Runway for Annual Spring Fashion Show
By BRIANNA FERGUSON
SUNY Institute for Local News
ONEONTA
SUNY Oneonta’s annual Spring Fashion Show will return on Saturday, April 25, bringing student-designed garments, elaborate set work and more than 150 models to Alumni Field House’s Dewar Arena for an afternoon celebrating creativity and collaboration.
Hosted by the Student Fashion Society, the show is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., with doors opening at 3:15 p.m. The 2026 theme, “Rococo Revival,” draws inspiration from ornate historical fashion while giving designers room to reinterpret the style through a contemporary lens.
Melanie Lowell, a senior majoring in fashion and textiles and the president of the Student Fashion Society, has been helping to organize the event throughout the spring semester, coordinating designers, models, and judges while ensuring the production comes together as planned.
“I hope our audience feel like they’re transported to another kind of world when we do this Rococo theme,” Lowell said. “Our set design [team] has been working really hard in order to make sure the entire show is fitted with the theme.”
Lowell said the show is meant not only to entertain but also to highlight the extensive work students put into their designs.
“I hope they can sense how hard our designers really work,” Lowell shared. “These designers put in hours and hours and hours of time, putting everything together and making sure everything’s perfect. I hope our audience is able to feel that from the designs and from what they’re looking at.”
The Student Fashion Society is a club organized through SUNY Oneonta’s Student Association. Lowell emphasized that the Student Fashion Society is open to students of all majors, not just those studying fashion design or merchandising.
“I think it’s important for people to know that the Student Fashion Society is open for all the community members. It’s not just fashion majors,” Lowell explained. “We have tons of education and communication and poli-science [majors]. And it’s just a good place where you can feel welcome even if you’re just a little interested in fashion.”
This year’s show includes about 30 designers whose work will be modeled by approximately 150 students. Preparation involves daily hours of design, fittings, and coordination, giving participants hands-on experience in both the creative and logistical sides of fashion production.
Designer Dylan Latchman said the process has been especially rewarding.
“My favorite part is definitely taking a step back and looking at a completed garment and being like, ‘Wow, I made that.’ It’s very rewarding,” explained Latchman, a junior in the design track of the fashion and textiles major.
Latchman added that the effort behind each piece is something designers hope the audience recognizes.
“The amount of time that is put into these garments and these designs, I hope that it shines through and, in the end, something beautiful is shared.”
According to the student organizers, the spring 2026 fashion show will feature two scenes. Club members will display “traditional ready-to-wear pieces” that adhere to the “Rococo Revival” theme during the first scene. Then, the second scene will consist of student work created through the “Innovations in Wearable Art” class.
The show will contain three intermissions, during which student performers will entertain the crowd. There will also be a presentation of the “Zero Carbon Footprint Gender-Neutral Slow Luxury Collection” from Lawrence Pizzi, an Italian-trained master tailor and veteran fashion designer who is also one of the show’s judges.
Designer Molly Rae Guerin said being part of the show has offered a new appreciation for the demands of the event’s production.
“I knew how much work went into the show, but it puts you into a whole new perspective when you’re in it.”
Guerin, a junior in fashion and textiles, said she has enjoyed the detailed, time-intensive aspects of design.
“I really like the busy-work aspect, especially for my first piece,” she explained. “Because I unraveled a bunch of strings of yarn and that took hours of work. But I really enjoyed doing it, honestly. I think it’s a nice way to pass the time.”
A set designer for the Student Fashion Society as well as a designer in the “Rococo Revival” show, Cammy Robinson said anticipation is building as the April 25 event approaches.
“I’m excited just to see it all come together, and everyone’s pieces. It’s just a fun day,” proclaimed Robinson.
The show will be judged by SUNY Oneonta alumni and a selection of New York City-based designers. The Student Fashion Society’s annual magazine is expected to be released one week before the show and will be available for purchase at the event for $20.00.
Tickets are available through the SUNY Oneonta Ticket Office website, oneonta.universitytickets.com. Tickets cost $11.00 for SUNY Oneonta students, faculty and staff, and $22.00 for the general public.
This story was created by student reporters through the OnNY Community Media Lab, a program of SUNY Oneonta and the SUNY Institute for Local News.