An impossibly thin model struts down the long black runway in front of legions of would-be-critics gracing the front rows, walking a bit unsteadily in the face of the blinding lights. It’s a familiar scene to anyone who has ever watched “Project Runway” or flipped through Vogue. But lack of the ever-pregnant Heidi Klum aside, there’s something different about this show, and it’s not just the questionably glamorous locale of the Lowell Dining Hall. This isn’t your standard parade of fashion: it’s “Identities,” an ambitious show designed to showcase fashion while simultaneously defining the Asian-American identity.
Two weeks later, models again took the stage on the Harvard campus, as throngs of students swarmed the Harvard Bright Hockey Center for the thirteenth year of “Eleganza.” While the very existence of two fashion shows in the span of a month might be anomalous for Harvard, something else stood out: this event had ethnic undertones as well.
But the similarities end there: not only was “Identities,” in its first year of production, undeniably smaller than the Liz Claiborne and Morgan Stanley-sponsored “Eleganza” behemoth, but the mission of each show was decidedly different. Where the fledgling “Identities” intended to scrutinize carefully Asian-American culture, the broad, diversity-encouraging mission of “Eleganza” was ultimately obscured in the dazzling runway spectacle.
A CLOTHED EXPLORATION
“Identities” was primarily the brainchild of Nathaniel P. Gunawan ’07 and Vicky Wu ’09, who each independently e-mailed then Asian American Association (AAA) President Sanby Lee ’08 about using fashion to explore Asian-American heritage.
“It’s a brilliant idea—let’s make political commentary through fashion,” says Gunawan, a co-producer of “Identities,” dressed in a knit cap and argyle green and crimson sweater—nothing but the most fashionable for the man voted Mr. Eleganza. “But when you think about it, it’s like ‘Oh god, what am I going to do?’”
What they did was divide the show into four segments, each representing different parts of the Asian-American identity: “Inspirations,” which featured standard runway fashion, “East Meets West,” “Chinatown” and the “Golden Ghetto,” which focused on the San Franciso Bay Area Asian-American community.
After “Inspirations,” “Identities” took on an increasingly ethnic feel; origami began to appear on dresses; onstage tableaux featured students reenacting a tai chi lesson.
“I feel like you need to belong before you can set yourself apart,” says Wu. “The spectrum moved from ‘Inspirations,’ applicable to everyone, then ‘East meets West,’ Asian minorities in white suburbia. Then we moved into ‘Chinatown,’ and then we moved onto the most extreme, where Asians suddenly become the majority.”
It was in the last segment where the identity took on an aggressive feel. Headlines such as “A B-average puts the student in the bottom third of the class,” “Asian at home-American outside,” and “Jumped to her death from a Manhattan building two months later” appeared on a blue screen as “Gangster’s Paradise” blared in the background.
A SHOW, WITH FASHION
Like “Identities,” “Eleganza” was divided into four segments: “New York Underground,” “Euro Club,” “The South and Carnival.” The four scenes centered around the theme of revelry, but did not follow any sort of progression.
Indeed, revelry was prominent from the moment Jadakiss and his posse hit the stage, rapping while scantily clad models snaked around them to the cheers of the audience. The show included a number of surreal skits such as a funeral procession that started off the Southern segment of the production and a reenactment of R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet.” Interspersed within these spectacles were dance performances from the Black Men’s Forum Steppers, Bhangra, and the Expressions Dance Company. Nirvana blared during New York; models danced around stage in their underwear to techno music during Euro Club.
The diverse group of models and performers all served to reinforce one point: while Eleganza was initially conceived by Black Comunity and Student Theatre (BlackCAST), with which it now has a loosely defined affiliation, its mission is not to scrutinize a specific ethnic identity.
“Initially, when it was smaller, being a BlackCAST production, it had—I don’t want to say a solely black audience—but it reached a black audience. But now it reaches a larger audience,” says Co-Executive Producer Amanda L. Brown ’09, who is a Crimson news comper.
This larger audience seems to have obscured the show’s aims: “We were definitely exploring a journey. We were exploring a journey from different cultures and places,” says Co-Executive Producer Alexis C. Maule ’08.
Brown was even more blunt: “At this point in the stage of the game it’s not a social commentary, it’s not anything political. It’s really just your friends being sexy and acting cocky on stage. People try to make it deeper than it is,” she says. “It’s become not completely about clothes, but I think it’s become more and more clothing oriented.”
A FUTURE OF FASHION?
“Identities” has a completely opposite focuse. “We’re presenting a person, an experience, rather than the clothes” says Margaret M. Wang ’09, co-producer of “Identities.” Therein lies the difference between the two productions: while Eleganza seeks to entertain, the producers of “Identities” hope to enlighten.
But, cedes Wang, “I don’t expect right off the bat for people to be like ‘Oh, this is what they’re experiencing.” And she was right: many leaving “Identities” were confused. “I felt like the models were Asian but I wasn’t sure what about the fashion was specifically Asian,” says Alli Chandra ’10.
Most though, were aware of the mission of the show and were supportive of it. “It’s more than just pretty clothes. It’s more than just modeling,” said Chen Li ’09. While she could not identify the message of the show, she was clear on one thing: there was, undeniably, some sort of message being given.
While both shows share similar origins (“Eleganza” had its humble roots in Pfoho dining hall) the two bear little resemblance now. While clearly more lavish and established, “Eleganza’s” mission is not as easily discernible as that of “Identities.” As “Identities” plans on expanding in the following years, it remains to be seen whether an increasing budget might entail a diluted focus.
