SMCL sells out 11th annual fashion show
LaSalle College hosts a fusion of fashion and performance
Saturday, Nov. 16 marked the highly anticipated 11th edition of the Soirée Mode Collège LaSalle (SMCL), held at LaSalle College. Since 2013, LaSalle’s second-year fashion marketing students have hosted the fashion show, with this year’s sold-out event themed “Fashion and Identity.”
The show unfolded in a joining of visuals, sound and performance art. Models emerged to Radiohead's “Exit Music (for a Film),” shrouded in dim light and bound by chains and threads. They writhed in a struggle for liberation, the clinking metal and the snapping of fibers creating an eerie rhythm against melancholic melodies of the music.
For Kai Sanidad, a fashion marketing student and model from last year’s show, the production set a new standard.
“The show was a big upgrade from last year, especially with the set design and the performance aspect,” he said. “The production, with the sound mixing and live performances, was really surprising and exceeded my expectations."
“Dissidence” was a dynamic and futuristic set, featuring a digital mixed-media installation that captured the essence of rapid movement. Glitch art effects, inspired by science fiction and action movies, created an immersive atmosphere with their visually striking, scalable visuals.
In the next sequence, “Jack in the Box,” the atmosphere shifted to a retro-futuristic revelry. "You Don't Own Me" played as models transformed into extravagant living dolls. Their costumes, vivid and funky, were adorned with oversized playing cards, which were used as playful fans and woven into avant-garde accessories.
“Untamed,” the final act, reflected the chaos of social media overload, displayed on ceiling-suspended TVs. Opening with Charli XCX’s upbeat rendition of “365” and using minimalism to symbolize concealment, the performance celebrated fashion as a tool for self-expression and defiance.
Transitions between acts were seamless. The lighting shifted from dramatic strobes to kaleidoscopic hues, bathing the runway in fluorescence. The soundscape moved from cinematic crescendos to pulsing beats.
Second-year fashion marketing student Anastasia Lappas led the communications team for “Untamed.” She explained that the team's existing network of connections helped secure a variety of sponsors for the show.
“For our TikTok posts, we would just follow trending content to engage the fashion community to pique their interest,” she said. “We attended Concordia's Cocktails and Connections, interviewing the co-president and attendees [and] building engagement through funny content, as that is what people enjoy watching nowadays.”
Terry Labonte, also a second-year fashion marketing student, served on the recruiting team for “Untamed.”
“We had clothes from our sponsors and past events hosted by Collège LaSalle, as well as personal clothing from students and our team,” he said. “This year, we focused on layering and a free-spirited approach. We wanted colour and weren’t concerned with perfection. At first, it didn’t look great on the model, but from that, we built our look.”
Collaboration across groups paid off, culminating in a sold-out event that surpassed expectations and rewarded their hard work, according to Labonte.
"Seeing it all come together shows how much effort we put into the show and brought us together as a team,” he said. “The sold-out show was surreal, as we initially worried no one would attend. The positive response and the way we promoted it was incredibly rewarding."
