On June 9, Founded Vintage store owner Peter Michaels and his collaborator Jackson Mangum held the first Founded fashion show. The show brought together several local young creatives ranging from designers to models to showcase the talent of the Eugene fashion scene.
The show took place after the third iteration of the Founded & Friends Flea Market held in the Farmers Market Pavilion and Plaza; the market had food, drinks and a live DJ playing for the hundreds of people shopping from dozens of vintage clothing vendors.
The looks ranged chronologically from the 1950s to the 1990s, with a look from each decade. After the ‘90s, the outfits all became heavily future inspired, culminating in 11 distinct outfits.
“The first future look was based kind of like an opulent kind of Hunger Games, royalty type reality where there’s a large wage gap,” Michaels said. The look leaned heavily into gaudiness, he said.
Michaels said the second futurist design intended to show the other side of this dystopian world from a factory worker’s perspective.
“That’s why we did very dark eye makeup on him and a toolbox. It’s supposed to look like he’s in pain and he only exists to kind of serve his factory overlords,” Michaels said. “Then the third look was an all black look, kind of inspired by like Antifa and Black Block honestly, kind of showing domestic disarray. The next look was a dusty look to show a kind of societal collapse and that things are in their final form.”
The collection featured two more futuristic looks. The first of the two was green and displayed mesh patterns, black boots and a cloak with a face covering. Michaels said this look was influenced by the idea of nature growing back after the death of humanity and reverting back to a prehistoric way of living.
“And then the final look was supposed to symbolize the death of humanity, hence the lantern in his hand: It was supposed to be the Grim Reaper,” Michaels said.
Product design juniors Orion Hubbard and Rónan Keenan contributed to the show with clothing they designed as part of the garment design course at UO. Keenan said the two of them were able to fit these already completed pieces into Michael’s vision for the show. One of the pieces, a long indigo trench coat, was the centerpiece of the last futuristic look.
“I over dyed the jacket with indigo and my collection was called Beyond the Pale, which is essentially a term that was used to describe sort of the unknown and the native people in Ireland,” Keenan said. “I’m fully Irish, so I was looking a lot at my culture, my history and trying to convey that through my clothing collection.”
Keenan’s partner in design, Hubbard, displayed the jacket he created on the first model with the 1950s theme.
“The inspiration behind it was like 1940s and 1950s workwear with buckle backs,” Hubbard said. “It just really accentuated male proportion.”
The black jacket was cropped short above the waist with long sleeves and a timeless look perfect for workwear.
“I wanted to mess around and make it a little bit more drapey to further accentuate the male form,” Hubbard said. “Basically it’s an ode to workwear and my take on modern wear.”
The pants in this look, a pair of flame torched 1968 Levi’s selvedge denim jeans, were credited to Founded Vintage member Jackson Mangum, who had a hand in six different pieces in the show.
The model for the first look, sophomore economics major Elias Contreraz, took on the challenge of capturing the intended period from this look.
“I was selected to be part of the 1950s, so part of my job was sort of encompassing that energy,” Contreraz said. “How would someone from the ‘50s walk, how would they act, the movement and everything. And that helped bring us to the ‘50s, instead of it just being like clothes on somebody.”
The second look of the show, inspired by 1960s fashion, came complete with high heels, a light green cream skirt, a two-toned gray and red top, a lace white shawl and a red hat to compliment the model’s bright red hair.
“I really wanted to capture what it felt like to be a woman or non-binary person in the ‘60s,” Uma Freeman, the designer of this look and LCC fashion design student, said. “Somebody who is not viewed as the highest person in society, but clearly still can have such strong intellect and power. And I feel like I really accomplished that.”
This look was one of the most eclectic of the night with multiple colors and different materials used in various proportions.
“I definitely wanted something that looked professional like somebody who could walk into a business or an office and just take charge,” Freeman said. “I also wanted to not compromise any of that beautiful femininity, and so you have really long, trailing pieces of lace just taking up space and letting people know that a boss is in the room.”
Freeman designed and collaborated with other designers on two of the future looks as well as the 1960s one.
The Founded and Friends Fashion Show was a huge success, not only in attendance but in bringing a community of creatives together and creating a unique experience.
“Pete wanted us to not make something normal. Don’t make something sellable. Make something that you think would be fun for the time period,” Mia Pippert, a junior studio art and advertising student at UO and collaborator on multiple pieces, said. “It was something that was super fun because it was very liberating. You would make something that was kind of weird and everyone would be like, ‘that’s it!’”
The creatives behind this endeavor were devoted to putting on a quality show for fashion lovers and community members in Eugene. More than just their designs, their dedication was on display — so much so that Mangum even wound up with a blood clot from all the sewing he had been doing.
“Every single one of those designers put their heart and soul into those. The oldest people involved in this project were 23 years old. Most of the folks are in their late teens, early twentie,” Michaels said to the crowd. “We wanted to put this show on for free for you guys, to show y’all what the community is about. We appreciate Eugene and the support that we have received for the past two years.”
While this event was free, Michaels plans on charging for upcoming shows to support the local creatives who made it possible. He urged audience members to support local artists.
“We love the community, we love the founding supporters, and yeah, it’s really just for fun, for creative purposes, for the game, for the love of it,” Mangum said. “You’re a fool if you buy new. Buy used, be sustainable and make that shit last.”
To contact designers, talent and organizers:
Peter Michaels and Founded Vintage
Orion Hubbard and Rónan Keenan
