Anna Molinari and three other fashion design students were gathered in a living room with their sewing machines when they found out that the Senior Fashion Show, where they would display their collections, was canceled. The four students — Molinari, two of her roommates and a downstairs neighbor — were working on their pieces for the critique that was set to happen the next day.

“And then when we found out, everybody just kind of sat there for a second and hysterically laughed. And then, of course, there was a lot of tears,” Molinari said.

In addition to Syracuse University’s Senior Fashion Show, other showcases and exhibits such as the Newhouse Photography Annual and the Communications Design Senior Portfolio Show have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many students whose work was supposed to be displayed in these exhibits have adapted to virtual ways of showcasing their work.

The Senior Fashion Show, originally scheduled for April 3, was going to feature the collections of senior fashion design majors. The 12 senior students in the fashion design program are in a class taught by Todd Conover, an assistant professor in the fashion design program.

Molinari said that the 12 fashion design students have a close relationship. In their Zoom classes with Conover, the students have vented about their feelings and discussed progress on their websites.

When they found out about the show’s cancellation, Molinari said that students had hope for a makeshift fashion show at a later date. But now, the students have shifted their focus to showcasing their collections through their websites and portfolios.

Fashion design student Dana Croutier models a look from Anna Molinari’s collection, which is based on the concept of computer programming and circuitry. Courtesy of Anna Molinari

Dana Croutier, another fashion design senior, said that she still wants to showcase the looks in her portfolio and hopes to eventually have a photoshoot. She added that though the cancellation of the show is sad, the work the students put into the collections was still worth it.

“Show or no show, we still created all these amazing things. And a show is not the main reason why we do everything,” Croutier said.

Hannah Frankel said she was excited to have a photo displayed at Light Work for the first time through the Newhouse Photography Annual. The 2020 Newhouse Photography Annual was set to run at Light Work Gallery on campus from March 23 until July 23 before Light Work closed its doors to the public on March 13 due to COVID-19 concerns.

The exhibit included over 30 photographs from students in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and images will now be featured on Light Work’s website.

For the photo Frankel took for a story about Loop Grill, the second oldest bar in Syracuse, she received an honorable mention at the exhibit. Frankel said that she was pretty disappointed about the cancellation of the Newhouse Photography Annual, but understood why it was canceled.

Maranie Staab, a graduate student whose photo won Best in Show in the Newhouse Photography Annual exhibit, said she was not disappointed by the news of the exhibit’s cancellation. She said she was grateful for the recognition of Best in Show, but this was not the reason she took the photo. Staab’s photo depicts a Yazidi bride in a makeshift beauty parlor at a displacement camp in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Hannah Frankel’s photo, which received an honorable mention from the Newhouse Photography Annual, depicts one of the patrons of Loop Grill, the second oldest bar in Syracuse. Courtesy of Hannah Frankel

The Communications Design Portfolio Show was also canceled. Each year, SU seniors in the communications design program participate in a portfolio showcase. This year’s show was scheduled for April 27 at the Nancy Cantor Warehouse. The students’ portfolio books are then displayed at a two-day showcase at the Fisher Center in New York City.

Nicole Stallings-Blanche, a senior in the communications design program, said that she and other students in the program have had to restructure an entire section of how they would build their portfolios.

“More than anything, we’ve just had to be resourceful and just look at different ways of going about it,” Stallings-Blanche said. “What we’re doing is we’ve kind of refocused our energy on really pushing forward with our websites because that’s going to be the way that most people will view our portfolios.”

Stallings-Blanche said that there has been a shift in the way that the portfolios will be shown. There will now be a drop date for the students’ websites and a possible virtual event.

The senior said she felt that she was in a privileged situation because she had access to the resources needed to complete her portfolio from home, such as access to a printer and photographer at her home. She also said her experiences may not reflect those of others in the communications design program.

“There may be a shift,” Stallings-Blanche said. “But we’re fighters, and we’ll get through this. And we still have the same skill sets that make us competitive.”

Published on April 26, 2020 at 2:09 pm

Contact Mandy: ackrayna@syr.edu | @MandyKraynak