People who keep up with fashion trends know all about fashion shows. They feature bone-thin models dressed in haute couture patterns and expressions of exasperated boredom. We’ve seen them on television, dancing on runways in Paris, New York, London and Milan.
There are the typical fashion shows and then there are the Inside Out fashion shows. The rules are different. Design your own clothes. Sashay down the runway. Strut your stuff while posing to the music. Be happy. Be glam. Redefine what fashion means and who can make it and wear it.
That’s what artists are doing at Huntsville’s Inside Out Studio, a no-cost art studio for adults who are developmentally disabled. Located in Lowe Mill, the historic factory building that was repurposed as an art center for 152 artists — potters, painters, sculptors and food makers — the studio works with people who create their art and sometimes sell it to the public.
Inside Out Studio Executive Director Sherry Broyles says the fundraising fashion show had to be canceled for two years due to COVID, but will be held this year on October 22 from 2-4. Sandwich boards will be placed in the Lowe Mill parking lot at 2211 Seminole Drive to direct people to the second floor track.
This free event is co-sponsored by Phoenix, a nonprofit organization that helps its clients find and keep jobs.
“Our artists are different. They are not restricted by the usual conventions of dress and style and try to impress people with their clothes. They’re free of all that,” says Broyles.
“The studio challenges expectations of what people with disabilities can do. We have a track for everyone. Inside Out artists walk alongside other Lowe Mill artists and designers. There is an idea of mixing mainstream artists with Inside Out artists.”
“They are all together.”
Artists decide what to wear. Their imagination drives their costume design. Katie loves sea creatures and is designing a jellyfish outfit. Mary is a great Egyptian queen. Cody is at the workbench creating a Walt Disney costume.
The latest fashion show featured an artist who walked the runway as the Queen of Hearts, wearing a fabric dress and playing cards. Another went as a circus ringmaster, painting bold stripes on his jacket and wearing a hat. Broyles says she is the assistant who does the hand sewing, but the ideas for the clothing come from the artists themselves.
“We don’t presume to know more than the artists do about the design they’ve chosen,” says Broyles. “They are responsible for this.”
They are also responsible for how they walk. Some of them are already practicing their runway walk in the hallway outside the studio. An artist will ride the track in her electric wheelchair. Others can walk with Broyles if that’s what they want to do.
Beer and wine will be served, and Dragon’s Forge Cafe is creating a soft drink for the occasion. T-shirts will be printed on site.
The beat of R&B music energized the queues of people who came to watch the previous fashion show. When it was over, the audience stood and applauded for a long time. The artists mingled with the crowd. Some took bows.
“At the end of the day, they know they’ve really done something,” Broyles says. “And they did it their way.”
