Back for its second year, the UVic Fashion Society is hosting its annual Spring Fashion Show and you’re invited! 2024 marked the first year that this event was held and centred around the theme “Culture & Couture.” This year, the event is being coined “Who-What-Wear” and centres around a spring floral theme. Attendees are encouraged to adhere to a comfortable but semi-formal/formal dress code that highlights bright, flowy, spring-like inspiration and silhouettes.
Open to both UVic students and the public, this 19+ event features local fashion designers from the Pacific Design Academy. The president of the UVic Fashion Society, Emmy Dastouri, says the event aims to help “cultivate a fashion community” in Victoria and “get people of all creative aspects interested in fashion and collaborate.”
Featured alongside these designers will be several local vintage clothing sellers, local art vendors, live music, and a bar serving $6-a-piece drinks.
The Event—Breakdown
The Fashion Show is taking place on Sunday, March 23, 2025, and is being hosted at Ambrosia Banquets and Events at 638 Fisgard Street. Pre-sale tickets are on sale for $10 and will remain at this lowered price until Saturday, March 15. Afterward, tickets will be priced at $15. Tickets are available for purchase online but may be offered for sale at the door, however, this is still to be determined, so make sure to get your tickets beforehand so you don’t miss out. There are also volunteer opportunities to help out with the event including modelling, photography, hair and makeup, set up, and more.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show is scheduled to start at 6:15 p.m. Dastouri reassures us that there are only “good seats” at the venue, as the runway takes place throughout the venue itself. Models will walk through the crowd and allow people to get up close and personal with the garments, creating an overall more interactive experience. Following this fashion show segment, keynote speakers will take to the stage and touch on a handful of topics surrounding the fashion industry. A notable speaker who will be presenting is Stephanie Mould, founder and creative force behind the local Victoria brand, Smouldy, and graduate of the Pacific Design Academy. Mould attended her first Vancouver Fashion Week in April 2024 where she presented designs from Smouldy’s Fall Wear ‘24 collection.
An intermission around 7 p.m. will follow the speeches and allow people to mingle and browse booths. Next, another designer will present their collection in the same interactive manner before being followed by further speeches and presentations.
The formal event will conclude around 8:30 p.m., allowing people to mingle, sip, shop, enjoy the live music, and connect with other fashion enthusiasts
More on UVic’s Fashion Society
The Spring Fashion Show is just one of many events the UVic Fashion Society puts on throughout the school year. As an events-based club, the club frequently collaborates with local Victoria brands and sellers to host interactive fashion-focused events. UVic students are encouraged to attend these events and meet with other fashion enthusiasts. Dastouri’s goal in planning these events is to encourage the growth of a “fashion collective” here in Victoria.
The club also offers the opportunity to be a part of their creative freelance team where you can gain experience in a number of creative fields including modelling, graphic design, photography, fashion design, and more. The club doesn’t host regular meetings for general members, but they do hold meetings for executive members. If you’re interested in joining the executive team, applications and hiring take place in September. The club is specifically looking to hire someone to take over the role of president for the 2025-2026 school year.
The club is currently working on establishing relationships with other local brands. One such brand includes Cherry Pick Vintage. Dastouri hinted that there are future collaborations with Cherry Pick in the works, so make sure to keep your eye out for announcements on their Instagram page or in their newsletter which is sent out 1-2 times monthly. The Fashion Society is always looking to collaborate with other clubs and groups on campus and their DMs and email inbox is open for outreach.
Overall, the UVic Fashion Society strives to create a community of fashion-interested individuals and looks forward to continuing the new tradition of the annual Spring Fashion Show. I can’t wait to attend this event and look forward to meeting with other fashion enthusiasts!