Fashion forward
Need some sartorial inspiration? Look no further than MESH, a student-run organization making fashion and design available to the UW and beyond.
Seattle is known for many things — innovation, indie music, stunning scenery, great coffee. Fashion? Almost never. But a group of University of Washington students are aiming to change that.
MESH Vice President Simon Huang, a psychology and medical anthropology major, first found the club through his love of modeling. Now he's a designer, too.
MESH is a UW registered student organization founded in 2022 with the mission to empower the fashion-curious to become full-on designers and models. To that end, the group holds a variety of workshops throughout the year on topics like beginning sewing, crochet, runway walking and more. “We always try uplifting people and providing skills or resources where needed,” says Simon Huang, ’27, MESH’s vice president and workshop chair, who’s been in the club since his first year at the UW. “We want people to leave each workshop with more confidence in independently pursuing and exploring these creative outlets.”
To make fashion even more accessible, Huang says all of their workshops are free or low-cost (including the materials), and are open to the public as well as students. They keep costs low by raising money through smaller events like thrift sales, as well as at larger ticketed events, like their winter educational expo featuring fashion organizations from throughout the region.
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Student in black outfit featuring fur-trimmed pant legs.
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Student in black dress and conical hat featuring red and orange origami cranes.
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Student in denim tube top and white skirt.
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Student in candy-colored outfit and whimsical hat.
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Student in asymmetrical white dress and tall black boots.
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Student in long black cape covered in Vietnamese writing.
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Student in long golden dress and draped scarf.
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Close-up of student with vibrant makeup and red outfit.
It's not only student designers and models that benefit from MESH. A team of student photographers work throughout the year to capture candid fashion show images and also stylized editorial photos. These are designs from last year's spring fashion show, Prismatic.
We always try uplifting people and providing skills or resources where needed. We want people to leave each workshop with more confidence in independently pursuing and exploring these creative outlets.
But their biggest event of the year is a May runway show (this year held on Saturday, May 16; tickets available online) that features a couple dozen designers and twice as many models in a culminating display of talent and vision. “There’s such a wide range of experience, and I think that’s the beauty of it,” Huang says. “Every show, we have designers who are like, ‘I’ve never touched a sewing machine before,’ or ‘I’ve been sewing for 10-plus years now.’ Our emphasis is less on skill level than passion — if you’re passionate about something, we just want to foster that.”
Not all Meshies, as members are referred to, will go on to pursue the fashion industry. Huang is majoring in psychology and medical anthropology. In high school, he became interested in modeling; at the UW, a friend introduced him to MESH. “There are obviously a lot of people in MESH who are in design or other art-related studies, and it’s really cool to see their studies translate to what they’re working on here,” Huang says. “But I also really like how many people are in business or engineering and just want to model or design on the side. Personally, I want to keep my work and my interests separate, so I don’t burn out.”
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A student fashion designer and model pose outside.
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A student fashion designer and model pose outside.
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A student fashion designer and model pose outside.
MESH holds an annual beginner fashion show in the fall; last October's was called Tidepool and had a watery, sustainability theme. Participants have just a few weeks to attend workshops prior to the event. Above, models and designers pose together (from left, Jeevin Kaur, Siena Villancio-Wolter, Abigail Whittall, Viba Raghunathan, Nicole Cheng and Elden Martial).
Huang credits MESH as being the kind of intersectional, welcoming community where he’s felt he belonged from the start, and that has given him the freedom to pursue additional creative avenues with curiosity. “Through being in this space, I’ve found more love in designing — there’s so much camaraderie in helping each other out. I’ve found so much joy in that creative process and just collaborating with people, that it’s turned me toward the fashion design aspect more.”
If your life could use a little more joy and a little less Gore-Tex, follow MESH on Instagram to stay up to date on upcoming workshops, events and more.
Story by Chelsea Lin // Photos by MESH photographers
