Story by Brit McGinnis
Photos by Alisha Jucevic
Charlotte Boesel stands tall, proud, and impeccably composed. Decked out in a flared skirt, tights and heels, the only thing truly unique about her outfit is an ill-fitting lab coat. But as emcee Margo Schaefer announces her name, the confident woman starts to unbutton her coat. With great bravado, we see the focus of the outfit—two gas masks strapped to her chest, in the style of a brassiere. Flipping the coat over her shoulder, Boesel struts down the Agate Hall runway. She smiles and struts, grabbing the masks provocatively to the amusement of the crowd.
In a way, Boesel represents the spirit of the Fashion Resistance to Militarism Fashion Show. The event celebrated its second year on Friday, February 25, and was initially introduced to the community by visiting professor Gwyn Kirk. It began as a fun, creative way to discuss the topic of militarism in American society. The costumes act as a type of visual lecture, a dramatic display of the effects of the pollution, contamination, economic strain, and psychological trauma caused by war. It proved very popular in 2010, so the volunteers took it upon themselves to be more ornate and artistic in the outfits this year. The 2011 show also served as a fundraiser for Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND), an activist group that organizes the fashion show and campaigns for various causes. All the funds donated will go toward establishing another event next year.
By the time the Fashion Resistance show began Friday night, Boesel had been at Agate Hall for five hours. Many factors had to be choreographed, with volunteers modeling outfits featuring plastic sheets, hula hoops, fishnets, and cardboard boxes. But this fourth-year Women and Gender Studies student handled it all. Boesel works as the Sexual Violence Prevention and Education intern at the UO Women’s Center, also helping to plan Take Back the Night. As she readily agrees, the fashion show is a combination of many peoples’ efforts.
“I think it’s more together this year; it’s more of a community,” she says with a smile. The entire planning group acts as a single unit, a mixture of ages, genders, and experience levels. There is an atmosphere of inclusiveness, and whole families are involved in the show, planning, running tables, or participating in modeling outfits.
Involved since last year, Boesel can easily point out the differences between the two shows. There were more volunteers with this year’s event, as well as more outfits and designers. WAND and the UO Women’s Center began planning the event a full four months in advance. But Boesel is quick to point out differences that have taken place in herself as well: “Last year I didn’t have as much hope for the world as I have now. And the show was an outlet for my frustration.” The show has served as a method of expression for many different designers, tackling issues from sexual assault in the military to the release of the WikiLeaks documents.
Boesel’s designs stand out in many ways. Her triage of “Elements” designs consist of Water, Food, and Oil. Every outfit in this trio is extremely wearable, based around basic tee shirts. But the devil is in the details: patchwork details highlight the world’s growing dependence on corn products in “Food”, while the punk-style makeup bring to mind the tragedies surrounding “Oil”. Charlotte also designed the outfit aptly named, “Weapons That Keep on Giving”. This outfit, worn by model and UO student Thor Slaughter, displays the grisly after effects of war. His towering frame displays the power of uranium, napalm, and radioactive materials. Mostly white and silver in coloring (to represent white phosphorus), grisly dismembered dolls hang from the hips of the model like a hula skirt.
But Boesel’s star outfit was “New Dawning”, inspired by a message from the Dalai Lama broadcast this past New Year’s Day. One of the last pieces of the show, Sunniva Jesling elegantly swished down the runway with henna designs on her hands and a decorative bindi between her eyes. The dominant color was light brown, reminiscent of traditional Indian homespun. However, the dull neutral brown of the dress was shocked by a radiant orange scarf. This outfit was a lovely relief from the dark, macabre outfits from earlier in the show. Boesel is especially proud of this work of fashion, as it represents the transformation she hopes for in the world.
“If I stay in a place of anger, I won’t be able to make the same amount of impact on the world,” she says. “I need to focus on the good, and what I can change.”
