By: Layla Blahnik-Thoune
Even after being told to drop her fashion minor, first-time designer Rachel Zauel persisted and created her first collection for this year’s Threads Fashion Show.
Zauel’s journey from spectator to model, and finally, to designer her sophomore year was the main inspiration for this collection.
“I was just thinking about who I am now, versus who I was when I went to my first Threads show,” she said.
Styling for a more campy feel, Zauel created three body pieces that are not everyday items, but aren’t unwearable either.
Black mesh coverings grace each look representing fears that have held her back creatively. Having struggled with criticism in the past, Zauel wanted to show her personal growth by uncovering herself and pulling back the mesh with each outfit.
“I just wanted to show the process and transitioning (from) being buried under all of these things that scared me or what people had said to me that would hold me back, to fully representing the end of it with it all behind me.”
The eye-catching, colorful polyester fabric helps drive the story home. Illustrating her true self, the body pieces are comprised of underwear-like bottoms and a more bandeau, cropped look for the tops. Contributing a bodysuit with a beautiful cape for the last look, Zauel’s first collection ends, but her fashion journey continues.
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