Visitors will explore futuristic “Star Trek” fashion in DACO’s one-day event guided by designer Celeste Malvar-Stewart.
LANCASTER, Ohio — In a one-day-only experience, visitors to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio (DACO) will be taken on a trek through the futuristic fashion of the United Federation of Planets, their friends and even their foes.
Attendees of the “Boldly Dressed” event at the museum in downtown Lancaster will be taken on a tour of DACO’s “Star Trek & Worlds Beyond” exhibition by central Ohio fashion designer and fiber artist Celeste Malvar-Stewart.
As if perusing Garak’s Clothiers on the promenade of Deep Space 9, Malvar-Stewart and author Emily Strand will guide guests through the exhibit with an eye toward connecting the costumes of the “Star Trek” franchise’s speculative 23rd and 24th centuries to the clothes of today.
“When we think about aliens, do we ever think about what they’re wearing? We do because of films like Star Trek,” said Malvar-Stewart.
The tour will look closer at design choices such as material selection and possible inspiration behind some of the pieces.
“There are a couple of pieces which are really beautifully created using actually upholstery fabric and they are very Asian-influenced,” said Malvar-Stewart. “It’s kind of a combination of different Asian aspects because they look, kind of, kimono-like, being very Japanese but they also use the fabric, which is called ika,t which is very prominent in places like Indonesia and even the Philippines where I’m from. So, it looks like just a fusion of this Asian influence and it’s just very layered and very architectural; very striking pieces.”
An immigrant from the Philippines, Malvar-Stewart grew up watching “Star Trek” on television. She related that not only was the show helpful as she was learning English, but the franchise’s depiction of a diverse community also helped connect her with her new home.
“When I first started watching it, it was wonderful because there were all of these aliens and people from different planets and different worlds, and it made me feel like, ‘Oh, I’m just one of those; I belong just as much as they belong,'” she recalled. “I loved the adventure and I think the costumes were such a great reflection of visiting these other planets and seeing different aliens.”
As a fashion and fiber artist, Malvar-Stewart focuses on producing “slow fashion” couture pieces from ethically and sustainably sourced materials, working closely with farmers here in central Ohio. Malvar-Stewart regularly visits the alpacas that produce the fleece with which she works. She even has a favorite alpaca named RaeRae.
“She’s wonderful,” she beamed. “She’s a little bit older, but she still produces beautiful fibers.”
Malvar-Stewart observed that, to an extent, everyone has a connection to the fashion industry. She said the fashion choices we make every day influence the way we are perceived by those around us, just as the choices made by costume designers for films and television shows like those of the “Star Trek” franchise influence the audience’s perception of every character depicted onscreen.
“We don’t really have an idea about the [character] and their personality and their role really without their costume,” she explained. “Their costume tells us a lot about them, just like us in everyday life.”
There will be two “Boldly Dressed: A Tour of Star Trek Fashion” walkthroughs on Thursday, July 24 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio in Lancaster. For ticket information, visit: https://www.decartsohio.org/exhibitions.html
