A Spectacle of Restrictive Fashion

It’s less than an hour before doors open for Cornell Fashion Collective’s first show of the 2024-2025 academic year. Models backstage are delicately shoving chocolate Ferrero Rochers into their mouths, careful not to smudge their makeup. Designers are on their knees correcting their hems, sewing on ruffles and even drawing on their models’ skin. There is a quiet lull in which you can sense the animation in each and everyone’s actions. Though stressed, the aura is excited, even anticipatory.

Senior Designer Profile: Speaking with Senior Fashion Student Riley Kilgariff ’16

From her ruby-red lips down, Riley Kilgariff ’16 makes her interest in fashion clear without saying a word. Throughout her years of study in Cornell’s Fiber Science and Apparel Design (FSAD) program, Kilgariff has exhibited her collections alongside those of other FSAD students in the Cornell Fashion Collective’s annual runway shows.  This Saturday, she will once again display her collection — comprised largely of dresses and jackets —alongside the work of her peers in Barton Hall. The Sun had a chance to speak with Riley outside Libe Café, where she explained her interest in fashion, explicated her philosophy on design and gave insight into the program from which she’ll soon graduate. The Sun: So how did you become interested in fashion design?