HOP show brings local fashions to JHU campus
Hop-Couture
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Milan! Paris! New York! Baltimore? In regards to fashion, the latter is about as paradoxical as the pairing of style with Hopkins. However, fashion is not completely foreign to Hopkins.
This past Thursday night, the Hopkins Organization for Programming (HOP) hosted the first of what may become an annual tradition: The JHU Spring Fashion Show.
Held in the Arellano Theater in Levering, the show attracted a small group of Hopkins students, most of whom came to support the show's models -- fellow Hopkins compatriots.
The show began with club music amplified from the surround-sound speakers and the flashing of red and white strobe lights. The event was narrated by two HOP members, and each ensemble the models donned was described in terms of function -- "this dress can be hot for frat parties, girls!" Audience members were also told where each item could be purchased.
Though the featured designers included none of the high-fashion names found on the catwalks during New York Fashion Week, that was the intention. All of the clothing shown were pieces that can be found just minutes from campus, in nearby Hampden.
Among the local stores presenting their clothes at the show were Fat Elvis, a boutique specializing in vintage clothing; Galvanize, also a vintage clothing store; Ma Petite Shoe, a footwear retailer that also sells chocolates; Shine Collective, a boutique carrying its own and other Baltimore designers' lines; and Oh! Said Rose, also featuring Baltimore-based designers.
"The [show] is basically a way to introduce Hopkins students to this world of Hampden that they don't necessarily know about," said Susannah Bridget Siger, owner of Oh! Said Rose and Ma Petite Shoe. "It's basically a fun [introduction] to highlight the more unique, independent designers of the area."
On a smaller scale, Hampden is to Hopkins what Harvard Square is to Harvard -- a festive, eclectic area with some funky stores specializing in unique, retro garments. And, with all the rage being vintage, retro styles, Hampden may be the perfect place to stock up on such goods.
"It's so hard to find good vintage clothes," said freshman Melissa Mataresse. "Usually everything vintage that's sold in New York or L.A. is either imitation or picked over, so maybe these Hampden stores will have some good, genuine stuff."
As was evident by the pieces exhibited at the fashion show, many of the clothes found in Hampden stores like Oh! Said Rose and Galvanize are indicative of what's currently hot in high fashion: floral prints, vibrant colors, tweeds and all-white ensembles.
Moreover, Oh! Said Rose featured a number of pieces that accurately mimicked the popular "mod dress" by Marc Jacobs and the Chanel tweed skirt with faux pearl belt, both of which are must-haves this season and received considerable attention at the spring fashion shows in New York, Milan and London.
Among other memorable pieces from the show were the skirts designed by Edye Sanford, a Hopkins alumna. While their design was quite basic, the skirts' blithe patterns -- sushi prints and bowling pins, among others -- added an element of spunk, making them truly unique articles of clothing.
A personal favorite was the comic-print trench coat and matching skirt from Oh! Said Rose, which not only seemed to hug the body of the model quite well but also tastefully imitated the style of famed designer John Galliano.
As for guys, the stores Galvanize and Shine displayed a number of hip retro t-shirts and vintage dress shirts and suits, providing alternatives to the traditional fare of Polos and khakis.
While attendees of the fashion show seemed only mildly excited by the presentation, the event served its purpose, informing students that a unique shopping experience may be closer than once thought.
"I don't know if I'll ever make it over [to Hampden]," said freshman Jenny Kahn, "but it's still nice to know that shopping and some cute clothes are so near."