It’s showtime. Fabrica is back this spring, and Taylor students are eager to volunteer their creativity.
In the fall of 2019, The Integration of Faith and Culture (IFC) cabinet introduced Fabrica, a collaborative fashion show celebrating student expression. An instant success, the show has become IFC’s biggest event, and one they hope to establish as a Taylor tradition for years to come.
Fabrica showcases the talents and styles of student models through several categories based on culture, style, generational fashion and more. The event is intended to be an immersive experience highlighting diversity and individuality across campus.
When senior Maddy Miller came to serve as this year’s IFC president, she knew that she wanted Fabrica to return for a second run.
“When I became IFC president, I remembered that IFC had put on the fashion show before, and I said, ‘We’re doing that again,’” said Miller. “‘We’re going to make this an IFC thing.’”
However, Fabrica is not an event coordinated by IFC alone. Rather, it is sponsored by the combined efforts of student makeup artists, stylists and models. The visual and atmospheric elements of the show are brought to life by Taylor’s Media Services team.
Without this campus-wide support, Miller doubts that Fabrica would be possible at all.
“The twelve of us in my cabinet, if we just stuck within our team to make this show happen, it would never happen,” said Miller. “The collaboration aspect is huge, and it makes the show, especially a show that’s celebrating people across campus.”
This celebration is at the heart of Fabrica and IFC’s mission as a cabinet. As students seize the opportunity to showcase their unique styles, all kinds of cultures and personalities are given representation on the runway.
According to sophomore and IFC cabinet member Abby Goebel, Fabrica is an outlet for students through which they can enjoy and express themselves.
“You can express yourself in a lot of ways, and I think as college students, a lot of people express themselves through their clothes and what they’re wearing,” Goebel said. “I think it gives people space to show something that they are interested in, such as fashion, or just to have fun with it.”
This year, IFC worked with TSO to create a theme for Fabrica that would unite the goals of the show with TSO events happening around the same time. After thoughtful deliberation, they decided on Fabrica: A Celebration in Color.
Miller noted the different ways in which this year’s theme embodied the mission of Frabrica.
“The idea of color is our biggest aim, in visuals and making art forms in fashion, and also the idea of colorful, meaning exciting, fun and fresh,” Miller said. “It’s also the idea of color as diversity, celebrating that there’s so many people from around the world that call this place home for four years.”
Senior and IFC cabinet member Natalie Baker believes that Fabrica beautifully integrates faith and culture by celebrating God’s redemption through humankind.
“Yes, fashion came through the fall of man, but God still provided for us through the clothes he gave us to wear,” Baker said.
Fabrica is expected to be held outside in order to create a COVID-19 safe environment for students on May 1, 2021.
