By Nicole Sellew

I attended Catwalk’s show, “Newstalgia,” hoping for a memorable Wednesday evening, and I was not disappointed.

When I arrived, I was first struck by the way they had decorated the space, with strings of CDs dangling from the ceiling. A few guitars were hanging between silver strands, and the effect was hauntingly beautiful. The CDs instantly evoked the bygone era of the 2010s and the theme of indie sleaze. The show promised a mix of recycled and upcycled clothing as well as new designs, and many of the looks delivered on the show's marketed intent.

The show was sponsored by Four Loko, a drink that I had thought was illegal, which brings to mind some of the darker aspects of the 2010s, at least for me personally. Google “Four Loko deaths,” and you’ll see what I mean.The drink contains about four beers’ worth of alcohol and several coffee cups’ worth of caffeine. But I think it worked for the show, lending it a dark, edgy aesthetic. Fashion, especially indie sleaze, is meant to have a darkness to it. If anything, Four Loko is a thematically appropriate drink.

I was lucky enough to meet one of the designers before the show - a French designer named Melissa. She is based in Sterling, but I encountered her at “Newstalgia,” loitering near the Four Loko poster on the wall. She told me her colorful pieces were hand-painted. They were the highlight of the show, and lit up the runway.

The first pieces in the show looked second-hand, which was great to see. As the show continued, there were more upcycled and designer looks - some of which were breathtaking. There were a few torn knit dresses that had a distressed chic look, which suited the whole vibey of the show - and some impressive, angular outerwear.

Also impressive were some of the male models’ walks. There was much stomping and attitude-injected twirling, which was fun to watch. At one point, all the boys wore kilts and other tartan-patterned garments, and all made an entrance together. The crowd loved it.

During the show’s interim, there was a silent auction. Many items were auctioned off for charity, including, of course, Four Lokos. A weekend at the Fairmont went for four hundred pounds after two boys were locked in a homoerotically intense bidding war. The organisers reminded us that the proceeds were for charity, although the specific charity organizations were not named.

My absolute favourite moment of the show came when one of the models (SJ) removed Melissa’s colourful jacket from another model, leaving him shirtless. Her bored, playful attitude was perfect for the manoeuvre, and everyone cheered when she strutted off the runway.

It was fantastic to see some diversity on the catwalk. Every model had their own personality, and it made the show more exciting. It wasn’t all anaemic stares (though one of the blonde girls had an incredibly derisive, bored model’s pout that scared me a little, but was very effective). There were also several pieces in the show with clear political intentions in their design. At one point, a girl strutted down the catwalk in a mesh slip with “we r not objects” emblazoned across the chest. I found this a very cheeky and ironic statement, and I liked the slip itself. Another piece was a Cinderella-esque ball gown displaying slogans like “my body.” This piece was effectively delivered by the model wearing it, whose presence commanded the runway.

All in all, I was impressed by the show, the models, the designs - and the fact that five hundred Four Lokos were given away for free. That's two thousand free alcohol and caffeine-loaded beverages in total.