Sashiko embroidery-inspired utility aprons, string swimsuits and accessories made from hardware screws: It’s been five years since such cutting-edge fashion has been part of the South End Art Hop. But the STRUT! runway show returns this Friday, September 5. Forty models clad in looks by eight Vermont designers will, yes, strut their stuff in the Pine Street space that most notably was once home to music venue ArtsRiot.
Founded in 2006, STRUT! was initially a signature event of the Art Hop weekend. After a pandemic-induced pause from 2020 to 2023, the South End Arts + Business Association produced the show as a stand-alone event last May at Hula, the coworking space and venue on Lakeside Avenue. But this year STRUT! sashays back into Art Hop, temporarily reviving a former hot spot right in the heart of the fest.
SEABA executive director Christy Mitchell said STRUT! gains attention from the larger weekend, and, reciprocally, Art Hop benefits from having more scheduled events. The fact that 400 Pine Street has been sitting empty since late May — when the short-lived District VT closed its doors in the erstwhile ArtsRiot space — sparked the idea to do a fashion party takeover.
“There’s something just really fun about honoring the grassroots style of the South End, and of SEABA, and taking over areas and making them our own,” Mitchell said.
In fact, while STRUT! was held for years in a tent behind the Maltex Building and later at Generator Makerspace, in its earliest days the event was “a way for SEABA to highlight spaces that were for rent in the South End,” Mitchell said, recalling when the show was held in vacant buildings such as the cavernous former Specialty Filaments factory at 1 Howard Street (now home to Dealer.com). This year’s ArtsRiot location is a callback to that tradition.
STRUT! will span the full vacant venue — and, weather permitting, the runway will extend to the raised porch so that passersby can view the action. The event will take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. and open with a Hat Bop led by Davis Studio owner Teresa Davis, who ran a similar event during last year’s Art Hop. Upwards of 30 models will show off wild, fun hats made in workshops at her South Burlington studio in the weeks leading up to the event.
When it’s time to walk the runway, models will emerge to music chosen by each designer and played by NyaaKé the DJ. WCAX-TV anchor and executive producer Darren Perron and Lily Sickles, owner of Winooski’s Standing Stone Wines, will emcee.
The pop-up venue suits the DIY attitude of the participating fashion designers, an eclectic mix of creatives and upcyclers. Seeko Siriwayo, owner of the Black Sacred Soul clothing brand in Winooski, is used to creating something totally original from scratch. Hailing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the designer, 38, will present looks that combine traditional Congolese folklore with his love of streetwear and hip-hop.
Kaltuma Bulle of Burlington, 22, and Jefferey Steele of Winooski, 58, are returning STRUT! designers and coordinators for the event. Bulle’s designs, threaded together with what she calls an “alternative cyberpunk theme,” feature plenty of denim, spikes and chains. Steele’s are mostly crochet — one is a sweater he purchased secondhand, pulled apart and put back together as a “weird Frankenstein sweater,” he said.
Yamuna Turco, Miss Vermont 2023 and a reporter for NBC5, will model one of 22-year-old Burlington designer Laila Travers’ office attire-inspired outfits. In Travers’ other looks, the artist uses hard metal materials to achieve a rugged aesthetic — she enjoys adding her own twist to trends.
“There’s kind of this draw to camo and neon orange, and so I’m exploring: How can I look at different things in the environment and then contrast this with color or texture?” Travers said.
Onyekachi Akalonu founded the Colchester graphic design and illustration business By Mezzy. For his first fashion show, the 26-year-old artist will display apparel, including a “heritage hoodie” printed with phrases in Nigerian.
Meanwhile, 66-year-old designer Carmella Cyr from Derby has sewn together four utility aprons from scrap fabrics. Using a visible stitch inspired by the Japanese sashiko method, Cyr gives each apron a unique theme, from “polar bear” to “chakra meditation.” She films her entire process on her YouTube channel, Eco-Art With Carmella-T.
“Sashiko stitching is not meant to be perfect. It’s crooked,” Cyr said. “Each person has their own signature that makes it absolutely beautiful.”
Want to get a closer look at the artistry? Return on Saturday and Sunday, September 6 and 7, when the space again transforms — this time into a wearables market.
STRUT! and Hat Bop take place on Friday, September 5, 7:30 to 9 p.m., at 400 Pine St. seaba.com/arthop
The original print version of this article was headlined “Project Runway | STRUT! Fashion Show returns to Art Hop for the first time in five years”
This article appears in Art Hop Guide 2025.
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