The fashion runway can be a lonely place.
The designs, as buttoned down or whimsical as they may be, catch the audience’s attention, and it may collectively gasp or cheer. Or both.
The designers, in turn, hope for that reaction.
That’s what one will witness Friday and Saturday at Dominican University’s Lund Auditorium for the school’s 2026 Fashion Show, which has a special theme: What’s your muse?
“We have so many different styles on the runway, the students wanted to put that question to our audience – what drives your creativity?” fashion design lecturer Antonella Fonseca said. “It’s a good thing to work with different storytelling.”
Thirteen Dominican fashion design students will show off what they have been working all semester toward. And the designs themselves? Well, they’re both buttoned down and whimsical, among other superlatives, according to Foneseca.
One senior has a collection of streetwear interpretations of Disney princesses. Another’s muse is Chicago’s structure and buildings, while yet another is focused on the resilience of the immigrant community.
“Audiences will leave with a new experience and a new vision of what fashion is like today,” Natalie Mixon, a fashion design major, said in a Dominican press release. She describes her work as “afrofuturist” and inspired by street culture and her upbringing on Chicago’s south side.
Student Emma Mendell designs formalwear and said this year’s show will be bigger and better, mostly because the number of students studying fashion at Dominican has grown substantially.
“It’s definitely a very inspirational thing to see everybody’s ideas come to life, Mendell said.
These students are soon to graduate and most of them have been in contact with the fashion industry in Chicago, with some finishing internships.
“They know they are doing their best, but I’m not sure they know the value of the work they are putting into it,” Fonseca said. “I’m excited about them and the work they are doing. I’m a cheerleader.”
The runway will open at 7 p.m. Friday and 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $23 for the general public and $5 for the Dominican community. There will also be a Zoom streaming option for $8. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.dom.edu/arts-minds/university-events/whats-your-muse