HUDSON – The Lightforms Art Center presented a fashion show on Saturday, April 9, featuring the designs of Vilma Maré. The show was titled Hope for Ukraine. All of the proceeds from the event were sent to Hope for Ukraine, a non-profit organization based in New Jersey that collects and distributes food and clothing to help mitigate the refugee crisis in that region.
Ms. Mare is a clothing designer whose studio is in Copake. She labels her designs Baltic Style, an acknowledgment of her own origins in Lithuania. The chevrons and grid patterns sewn into the vestments worn by the models, or “ushers” as she would have them known, echo the designs found in the artifacts of Neolithic hunter-gatherers who lived in the Balkans and western Ukraine region in the 6th and 5th millennia B.C.E.
The garments are from what Ms. Mare has called her “Covid Collection,” having worked primarily from home during the past two years. The garments featured in the show consist of two layers of fabric, linen and silk, cut and sewn together to show the design. The collection also included blue and yellow shawls and scarves; the colors of the Ukrainian flag with zippered pockets to carry essentials to “remind us of women and children on the run from occupation and aggression,” said Ms. Mare.
The fashion show was accompanied by the music of her husband Slink Moss and his group called Black Lake performing a piece called “Hail, Hail.”
The evening raised about $650 through admissions and donations to benefit Hope for Ukraine.
