* The Fashions of Paradise, Birds, and Other Wisdoms

An Homage of Adornment: the Fashions of Paradise

The ancient tradition of spring plumage sees birds of the north bloom with the blossoms. Pops of brightness twinkle across tops of trees as warblers belt out their calls for love. Do you hear me, do you see me, I want you to. But the fashions of paradise are a relentless celebration of boldness; vividly painted feathers streak across the sky, the canopy, our hearts. The bird of paradise is a flower; the birds of paradise are a plenty hoard of magnificent, shimmering, ancient beasts. They dance in display, defy gravity at their whim. Against the backdrop of the lush green foliage, they do not care who sees.

This showcase is a culmination of years of work exploring the possibilities within textiles. Jessica Brown has been creating unique, wearable art for the last six years. This summer fashion line contains pieces made for dazzling others and ourselves. Like the birds, we display our most colorful selves to say, “Look at me!” Eclectic and ethereal. Corsets, skirts, shorts, tees, and dresses. Unique, aligned by the desire to shine and inspire. The fashion show itself will be augmented by performance(s) by BORBS.

BORBS is an aviary ensemble of improvising musicians which seeks to capture the wild, raw energy of birds and their lives– their worlds. This ensemble is a source of immense inspiration: the igniting force behind the creation of her large, silly, intimidating bird hats. The hats are made of cardboard; finding new life for a material oft destined for wasteland. Each hat is an echo of real wonders of the world.

In addition to garments, adorning the walls will be embroidered pieces and paintings equally aimed at paying tribute to the mother of us all, nature. This is, at its heart, an offering of labor and love to her.

MODELS!

Sonali Singh 

Jasmine Bullara 

Jess Castor 

Cassidy Gruber-Bureauth 

Aida Kupar 

Chloe Wang 

Bridgit Donahue

Matteo Mcdonnell 

Melinda Rice

Marisa Facey

Chloe  

Emma 

Runway music by Thomas Patteson

BORBS

Aaron Pond- Horn, Voice, Flutes, Melodica, Percussion, Grasses

Jessica Brown-Horn, Voice, Flutes, Percussion

Max Engleman- Guitar, Gong, Melodica, Bassoon

Gabe Preston- All of the reeds

BORBS is dedicated to the birds in their awe inspiring nature, their terror, their beauty. This band utilizes sound schemas, gesture-codes, and light compositional thoughts as an organizing operandi. The sonic world is a mythical transduction of our ever-depleting/degrading/transforming natural spaces. While we never play compositions per say, nor do we ever stay in a particular mood for a long time, it seems very clear that sunset has a certain sound to it, the blistering afternoon heat, the deep winter morning. There are characters. We may be constantly redefining ourselves but we are most distinctly stars in the sky. If you trapped us in an elevator you would hear the words "Kabuki Theater meets the Art Ensemble meets Jurassic Park"

Coordination and Assistance by Mijkalena Smith