There’s a pause in the show. The music changes. It switches from fast paced to slow and majestic. The model comes out with gentle, flowing movements. Once she reaches the start of the runway, she stops. The music becomes more upbeat, hitting hard as she struts through the middle of the crowd. Her white dress is draped over her body, with a white crocheted slip placed delicately over top. 

Advertising freshman Grace Xu displayed her extraordinary depiction of women’s bodies at the Hook’d fashion show Saturday April 15, 2023. She enjoys crocheting, so when she got the opportunity to showcase that talent, she took it. 

For the piece, she really focused on the menstrual cycle and how women are constantly told they are just on their period when they feel emotional. Xu sees her piece as saying, “I don't care what you think I am on my period,” Xu Said.  The woven red yarn of her design demonstrates this. While the performance the model put on of walking slowly at first before taking the main runway with a powerful strut was meant to showcase the body and what it means to be feminine, says Xu. 

The original tale of Ariel was another key element in designing her piece. She explained how she wanted to demonstrate that Ariel’s story wasn’t all that different from things she hears everyday. “I use like kind of symbolism,” Xu says. This relates back to how women go through natural occurrences and emotions everyday, yet they are often silenced, as Ariel was in the story. 

In a similar way, Xu based her dream career of a fashion designer off the Fancy Nancy books she would read as a child. Now she describes how she feels that being a designer full-time doesn’t seem realistic, so she wants to go into the field in a different way. Being an advertising major, Xu wants to explore the marketing side of clothing brands in some way while also fighting back about what she’s passionate about. 

“Advertising is all about  feeding into capitalism,” Xu said. “I don't like that. So I guess I'm going against that.” 
She explained how she doesn’t want to mass produce things, and she wants to take part in more sustainable, repurposable items. Her designs in this show are a step towards this goal, as she shows the ways she aims to break stereotypes and represent those who often are ignored. 

“I mostly like making things that tell a story,” Xu said. She described how fashion should be a way for a person to express themselves. 

She explained how she likes the idea that she can make anything to put on her body, especially hats. Because of this, she chose to make a headpiece for the model. This was a way to incorporate her own style into her design for the model. Being her first time designing and showing her work, Xu talked about how she has improved through this experience and lots of practice.  “So I guess like anything that can make people feel like a character,” Xu said. This meant to produce something that had a purpose, rather than just making an item for the sake of making it. Fashion is about formulating a character and dressing a person to fit that, Xu said. 

Continuing to improve and change is something that Xu values in her journey as a designer. 

“I'm just gonna stick with this because it's fun, and I can create something that I like to wear,” she says.