On the evening of Feb. 22, Stanford FashionX presented their third annual student-organized runway show, featuring over 120 student models wearing over 80 student designs, all surrounding the central theme of “Metamorphosis: Becoming the Future of Fashion.”

As sunset turned to dusk, Memorial Church became the epicenter of anticipation and excitement. Outside the venue, footsteps and chatter trickled through the corridors of Main Quad as the runway watchers and fashion fanatics of Stanford queued for admission. Inside, student models raced down the pews and aisles to touch up hair and makeup, while student organizers attempted to corral the group into a single line. It was a frenzy of tulle, sequins and feathers — a fashion week of sorts, brought for one evening only to Palo Alto.

An hour before the show, I made my way backstage, navigating through a maze of garment racks and half-zipped dresses, catching glimpses of last-minute fittings. Despite the months of planning — a process that entailed choosing an event venue, creating a promotional video, sourcing decorations, props and lighting and working with student producers and composers to develop a score of over 40 songs for the show — the final moments before the show were still a whirlwind. Like the real-world productions that grace the covers of Vogue, the hours leading up to the runway show were equal parts creativity and chaos.

Jacob Tan ’27, a student designer and the incoming FashionX president, explained that runway shows often came together in the eleventh hour. Designers, he said, constantly adapt, adding last-minute embellishments and rearranging looks with only minutes to go until curtain.

“We just had our dress rehearsal yesterday, and things changed last minute,” Tan said. “The order of the models and how we lined up at the end of the show to give our last bow was all changing at the last minute… That’s just how the world of fashion is.”

For his piece — a silky green and pink dress inspired by a butterfly — Tan leaned into his aesthetic instincts. As he carefully tucked a finishing touch of flowers into the hair of his model, Grace Ojumu ’27, he told me about his ideation and creative process.

“I made a mood board instantly, and I started just pinning ideas and things that I just found visually appealing,” Tan said. “I have this board titled ‘unorthodox inspiration,’ just random shit that I think is really visually appealing, like a box of sushi or like a butterfly’s wings or like the art on the wall of a mosque… color combinations and things like that.”

Mina Phipps ’25, another student designer, contributed three looks inspired by Alexander McQueen’s anatomy collection, each modeled after a specific part of the human body.

“I study medical illustration, so I work a lot with the human body and expressing it in creative ways,” Phipps said. “And so that’s what I’m kind of doing here in regard to the metamorphosis — I’m delving into the layers of the human body.”

Mina showed me her pieces — a tulle set, a short metallic set and a web-like top — all coordinated in bright shades of silver, red and white. 

“This bone is supposed to be modeled after my favorite bone, the sphenoid, which is called the butterfly of the body,” Phipps said, pointing to the web-like top. “Butterfly, metamorphosis, that’s kind of how the collection came to be.”

Under a mist of hairspray and a clamor of chatter, models, too, underwent their own transformation. For months, students met for modeling workshops, where they learned how to walk and practiced their formations. The air was thick with nervous energy and the sweet, sharp scent of cosmetics as I edged toward the group of sequined bodies queued in line.

Juliette Falk ’28, a student model, spoke to me as a hairstylist combed through her hair. She wore a look by student designer Katie Small ’28: an ocean-inspired ensemble aimed at sparking conversation about climate change.

“We had around three workshops, and it was mainly getting the feel and getting comfortable,” Falk said. “We did some walking practice, learned the best strategies for how to move well, and then a dress rehearsal so that we would feel comfortable before the show started.”

Despite the preparation and rehearsal time, the live experience was nevertheless daunting for many. Wearing a look by student designer London San Luis ’27, Adam Golomb ’27 — a former Arts & Life editor for The Daily — spoke to me with his tulle outfit in hand while waiting in line for makeup.

“I don’t think you know how scary it is until you actually walk the stage, until you get on the stage and you see people are there and there are lights on you and it’s dark,” Golomb said. “You start like, shitting bricks.”

Melody Fuentes ’24 wore a skirt made from specially ordered silk chiffon and a corset constructed with boning by Fuentes herself. In her hair, Fuentes wore a crown of sorts, made from silver zip ties which pointed outward from her head in all directions.

“I welded this metal together here because my undergrad is in product design,” Fuentes said. “This is meant to be the transformation of me as a first-generation college student, and my journey as an engineer.”

For many student designers like Fuentes, the weight of personal history, identity and cultural legacy was stitched into every seam. Her piece, “el volcán” — Spanish for volcano — paid homage to her parents’ home country of El Salvador, known as the land of volcanoes.

“The country has gone through an immense transformation in the political landscape in just a couple of years,” Fuentes said. “[My piece] is supposed to represent the phoenix, rising during this period… It’s a love letter to my parents and to the fire and the passion of the Hispanic community.”

Souady Diane ’25 wore a student design by Asukulu Songolo ’25. A voluminous mass of rafia, Songolo’s piece pays homage to his African heritage.

“Congo right now is going through a huge crisis, and [Songolo] being able to authenticate his culture and stand up for his culture is something that’s very beautiful,” Diane said. “I’m very proud and empowered and happy to represent African fashion.”

Within a STEM-leaning university, FashionX is more like a home than a club to many students. The creative hub is a community for creatives and creative-seekers, for artists and art admirers alike. At Stanford, FashionX is a place where mechanical engineering students sew bodices after problem sets and where biology majors turn bone structure into silhouette. It is about making something beautiful — and being celebrated while doing it.

“Fashion is like the hidden language of the universe, and it speaks so many volumes about you that you may not even know,” Tan said after the show. “As someone who is a scientist and a writer, I think it is so much more than just clothes.”