On April 16, the Tulane University Fashion Club hosted their third annual fashion show on the Berger Family Lawn. “Blood, Sweat, and Tears” highlighted the contributions and importance of the medical field to society. 

Barbara Malamut, vice president of sewing and design at Tulane Fashion Club, said the show was a “marrying of two worlds” for her. As a neuroscience major with an interest in fashion, she wanted to display the intersections of science and fashion onstage. 

Models strutted down the runway in a number of looks that ranged from head-to-toe bright blood red and skeletons to my personal favorite look — a spray painted circulatory system complete with red and blue lines signifying oxygenation. Malamut said this look was a reference to the Bella Hadid spray-on dress at the Coperni spring/summer 2022 show, last September. 

Students produced the entire Tulane fashion show, including the designs, models and creative direction. But make no mistake, there was nothing ragtag or haphazard about this event. Every detail signified a sophisticated operation, such as the red visuals displayed on a TV screen, which I thought elevated the show and added an extra level of immersion to the production. For a school with no official fashion design program, Tulane Fashion Club is producing shows with innovative concepts and eye-catching artistic work. 

Producing this show was not without its snafus. Sidney Stamm, board member for Tulane Fashion Club, said “When it came time to the actual show, we wanted to do a practice runway in the basement of the LBC to get timing with the tempo of the music right. But, all of a sudden, as the first models were about to walk, the power in the whole building went out.” Despite this, the show went on without a hitch. 

Much of “Blood, Sweat, and Tears” is the culmination of community effort. This show would not have been possible without the help of Mushka and Leibel Lipskier at Tulane Chabad, who lent chairs to the club for the audience to watch outdoors. Malamut said she loved “working with a team of wonderful people” to put the show on for everyone. 

“Blood, Sweat, and Tears” exemplifies the innovation of students at Tulane and how creativity and academia can come together and create something beautiful for everyone to enjoy. I cannot wait to see how the shows develop over the years and inspire students to get involved with fashion on campus.