Laurel DeWitt hosted a fashion show at Ohio State on Monday night, where students modeled her designs. Credit: Courtesy of Lydia Myus
The fashion designer who has dressed names such as Shakira, Nicki Minaj and Jennifer Lopez put on a show for Ohio State Monday, allowing students to show off their style on the runway.
Laurel DeWitt, whose clientele includes A-list celebrities, presented a fashion show featuring students followed by a Q&A moderated by Wendy Goldstein, a senior lecturer in human sciences administration.
In collaboration with the Ohio Union Activities Board, the “Fearless Fashion with Laurel DeWitt” event was hosted at the Ohio Union.
DeWitt creates ensembles of gold, silver and every color in between that are reminiscent of the medieval era, yet fashion-forward and luxurious. She works with these materials to “reimagine the distinction between clothing and accessories,” as said in the introductory remarks.
Models struck their best poses on the catwalk, with DeWitt featuring models of color expressing natural hairstyles. They were adorned in various metals, dripping with jewels and beaded chains, with a matching headpiece to complete the look.
“She does a lot of work with people like Cardi B and Beyonce who have different figures that are a little more voluptuous,” Imani Harris, a third-year in creative writing and one of the hospitality leads for the event, said. “For her to give opportunities to students to do that type of thing and have that type of experience is super important to me.”
Nigeria Gould, a fourth-year in theater, said DeWitt is inspiring diversity in the fashion community through her work and that her inclusion of multiplicity in both race and body positively influences people in and out of fashion.
“I hope OSU students get to see that fashion can be more than one identity — it looks differently on everyone, and no one is limited to what fashion looks like,” Gould, who is also a project lead for the event, said. “Fashion can be plus-sized bodies, average-sized bodies, smaller bodies, tall bodies, short bodies… fashion is a spectrum and beauty is a spectrum in itself, so we should learn to take ourselves out of the limits that we have been taught to think what beauty looks like.”
Gould said her work celebrating all body types and diversities has encouraged a sense of inclusivity within the fashion world and this has transferred to the Ohio State community.
“I hope she continues to take off with how she’s shaping her work and how she’s making this accessible to different bodies within the industry,” Gould said. “To keep giving opportunities to students who are up and coming and make the next fashion industry people as cultured and aware as she is and has been.”
DeWitt and her production manager, Sire Leo Lamar-Becker, said during the Q&A that celebrities do not give a lot of notice before needing an outfit or accessory, so her motto is to “stay ready.”
“For JLo, we did the Billboard Awards, and we had to make 26 dresses in a week — full chain dresses, handpieces and wigs. We don’t buy material that way, everything is linked together,” DeWitt said. “I always have things around to be able to create.”
DeWitt relocated from New York to Los Angeles to be closer to where her work is, but she credits her Brooklyn upbringing for teaching her how to work hard and work well, contrasting it with the West Coast where, according to her, the “hustle” is not the same.
“People just know now that I get it done and I make a good product,” DeWitt said. “You don’t sleep. If they change their mind [at the snap of a finger], you just gotta go with it. It’s frustrating, and I’m always tired and crazy, but it has to happen. It’s dedication, that’s what’s important.”
