Sometimes joy is a radical act.
“When I was in middle school, I wore bright, patterned pants that I called my ‘confidence pants,’” said Emma Rubinson, a senior in fashion design in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. “They made me feel bold, expressive, and a little uncomfortable. Facing my fear of judgment helped me gain confidence in myself, and inspired me to always wear my heart on my sleeve.”
At 4 p.m. Saturday, May 15, Rubinson and six classmates will present their work as part of the Sam Fox School’s 92nd Annual Fashion Design Show. Filled with sleek silhouettes, saturated palettes and crazy-quilt textures, the show titled “The Collective” is a full-throated rejection of pandemic-era dourness.