As the first model stepped onto the stage at the Ohio Union’s performance hall Saturday evening, narrator Michelle Upshaw began to tell a story.
“Enveloped in the presence of creation, like the sound of a rushing waterfall, the sweet aroma of rain, Earth's exuberant heartbeat was our beginning,” Upshaw read.
The student model, dressed in a short champagne-colored dress with a glittering train, came down from the stage and walked the length of the hall. She was followed by others wearing shades of iridescent beige, fluffy sage green skirts or gold-spattered pants.
Then, the innocence of light colors changed over to deep maroon and black and models wearing chainmail, as the story took a turn toward violence.
“Our genuine trust in others prevented us from seeing the betrayal awaiting us,” Upton read. “We were tricked by the scheme of perpetrators from the generations before us. They were unconcerned about the damage their deceit would cause.”
Then came restoration: silver, gold, glitter, fantastic capes and jewels sparkling in the runway lights.
“Unchanged from being the voiceless, unchanged from being unheard, unchanged from being the victim, unchanged from just surviving,” Upshaw read. “We are Unchained.”
Ohio State’s annual Unchained Fashion Show tells the story of human trafficking through fashion, music and the spoken word, all while raising awareness and funds for She Has A Name’s Strategies for Success Scholarship, which helps support survivors of human trafficking.
Upshaw, of Columbus, began lending her voice to the show several years ago, after her daughter appeared as a model in the first Unchained fashion show. She said she loves the way the message is shared in a creative way that people can really understand and see.
She hopes people walk away from the event knowing there are ways to help those who are being trafficked.
“Hopefully they'll want to get involved. Hopefully if they see something that looks suspicious, they'll know to contact someone,” Upshaw said.
Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion to exploit an individual for material or economic benefit. The state of Ohio defines it as “involuntary servitude.”
Ohio is ranked in the top five U.S. states for human trafficking reports.
And as Meredith Hampton explained during the event, it can happen to anyone. Hampton grew up in Powell in an upper-middle-class family. But when she was 16, she met an older boy at a party. What she thought was an innocent relationship turned into verbal, physical and sexual abuse.
“What I now know, he was in fact not my boyfriend but my trafficker. He used my vulnerabilities against myself to manipulate me into thinking my worth was directly tied to how I could please a man,” Hampton said.
It took Hampton many years to self-identify as someone who had been a victim of human trafficking. Now, she sees herself as survivor.
“Even better yet, I'm an overcomer,” she said.
Hampton was one of two speakers who shared their stories of surviving human trafficking. Saturday’s event also included information booths, a basket raffle, snacks, a dance performance and music.
The main event, however, was the fashion show.
Designs were based on the themes of stars, or innocence; moon, or violence; and sun, or restoration. For the first time this year, the show included male models, as a reminder that human trafficking isn’t just a women’s issue.
Avana Bhalla, an Ohio State senior fashion and retail studies major, has been involved with Unchained for four years.
“I knew that I wanted to find a club that gave fashion purpose, and I found that this organization did that,” Bhalla said.
This year, Bhalla was in the violence/moon section of the show. She wore a maroon corset dress with a long chainmail body piece overtop and big, black boots.
“I feel like a knight in it. It's really cool,” Bhalla said. “Everyone else just has touches of maroon, some have black, we're all wearing black boots and everyone has chainmail incorporated somehow in their outfit.”
Bhalla said when she puts on the outfit, she feels powerful.
“I feel very strong, and I think that's how I view survivors of human trafficking,” she said.
Columbus designer Ali Rielly dressed Bhalla and four other models, including two men.
“Chainmail traditionally has this violent connotation behind it, but it's also protection and safety and it has this surprising fluidity and softness to it for something that's metal,” Rielly explained. “So, I wanted to kind of show that softness with kind of the harshness, and it's a way of protecting yourself in the worst situation.”
Rielly, a recent graduate of Columbus College of Art and Design, got involved when the show’s organizers reached out to her, knowing she already had an interest in chainmail.
“It's such a great cause and the group, everyone's been so lovely,” Rielly said. “It's such a sensitive topic that I feel like art is such a beautiful way to express that.”
Delaware-based fashion designer Anjali Phougat designed the restoration/sun section.
“You know, sun has radiance. We use a lot of bling, gemstones to portray that light and radiance in the designs,” Phougat said.
Phougat said she wanted to show that when we radiate light and spread it to others, it becomes more beautiful.
“To me, it's all about what you are doing for the world, how you are saving others, how you are spreading your light, how you are rescuing more people and spreading the word,” Phougat said.
If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.
