Written by Jordyn Salahiddine-Rose

Becoming is the first show and overall fashion project Sharon Yeh has worked on. Although she has designing experience, she has never worked on the fashion side of her interest in art. As a new member and transfer student from Taiwan, Yeh wanted to fully experience The Vault and one of our most celebrated traditions, our biannual fashion show. And what better way to experience the fashion show than by designing for it?

Becoming is The Vault’s S26 Fashion show, which took place Saturday, April 18th at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Throughout the show, designers were exploring the emotional milestones that have shaped who we are and are going to become. There were three chapters in this show, starting with “Play” then moving into “Pressure” and finally coming full circle with “Becoming.” Yeh’s design was part of the “Pressure” chapter for this show.

After transferring to UW Madison this semester, Yeh looked at a variety of clubs and organizations that might fit with her creative passion, but none of them sparked her interests, until she came across The Vault. And after attending a few meetings, she knew she wanted to design a look for BECOMING. She thought this would be a great opportunity for her to get more experience in the fashion world of the arts.

Chapter two of the fashion show, “Pressure” was the category of when the world starts to push back on our adolescence and we begin to question who we are or who we are expected to be. In Yeh’s design she captured that feeling of pressure to be someone we don’t even understand yet.

The fabrics were oversized on the model with long sleeves and wide shoulders falling down her arms to showcase there is a shape waiting to be filled. The hair on the model had little curls and rhinestones all throughout her hair representing how our hair looked when we were younger. The makeup also showed a more shiny look, with glitter being on the models face. The model also had rhinestones all down her back and legs, making her shine like a mirrorball walking down the runway. Yeh planned to use 3D printing on some of the more detailed parts of the look. “I have more experience in 3D printing,” emphasized Yeh. “So I think using skills I already have will be more beneficial for me and the look overall.”

This theme of feeling overwhelming pressure from the adults around us is a personal topic to Yeh. “I was inspired by my childhood,” said Yeh. “I always felt a lot of pressure from my parents and I wanted to truly show that in this look.” Since this look is so personal to Yeh, it means a lot to her and how she approaches the design process. She wanted to make sure that she was fully depicting the feelings she had growing up, along with so many other Taiwanese children.

Furthermore, Becoming also holds a special place in Yeh’s heart, as she is a transfer student from Taiwan and so coming to the US –an entirely new place – has been scary for her. Through this change, “I have had the opportunity to become a newer and better version of myself,” explained Yeh.

More specifically, with her design she was able to show what it means to be young again and have the imagination that only a child is able to have. This made the show so unique; the designers were able to create a look based on the thoughts and feelings we had as kids. Sharon Yeh has done exactly this with her “Pressure” look.

As the show was soon approaching, Yeh explained how nervous, but excited she was getting for it. Showing off her design and hard work was a great accomplishment for her and her designing career. Not only was she excited to show off her own work, but she was also excited to meet new people and see their work. “Becoming friends with people that share the same creative interests as you is, I think, just as important as improving one’s own career,” said Yeh.