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- The Unchained OSU Fashion Show will be held Saturday at the Ohio State University’s Ohio Union.
- This year’s theme is “Outer Space,” with the story of a human trafficking survivor told through three stages: innocence, violence and restoration.
Many are surprised to learn that Columbus is a hub for the fashion industry. Even more may be surprised to learn that Ohio is also a hub for human trafficking, primarily sex trafficking.
Bringing arts and activism together Saturday to raise awareness of human trafficking in Ohio and beyond, the Unchained OSU Fashion Show is back.
Held at the Ohio State University’s Ohio Union, 1739 N. High St., doors will open at 6 p.m. for the 6:45 p.m. show.
The annual fashion show follows a different theme each year, and this year’s theme is “Outer Space,” the show’s co-director Tanisha Dhankhar, a December graduate of Ohio State University, said.
Using garments, music, facts and poetic narration, the show will tell the story of an overcomer of human trafficking in three stages: innocence, violence and restoration. With this year’s theme, the show will represent innocence with the stars, violence with the moon and restoration through the sun.
“The purpose of this fashion show is to primarily raise awareness of human trafficking by utilizing fashion and other artistic expressions in the show and work toward prevention and restoration of survivors of human trafficking,” Dhankhar said.
“We do this in a very fun way, although it is a heavy topic.”
Art of overcoming: Reclaiming innocence
Sydney Peters is a returning designer to the show, after creating for the “violence” portion of the event last year. This year, the Columbus-born designer, now based in Indiana, chose to design the garments for the “innocence” section.
“What I’m really trying to portray this year is that innocence factor of like someone that is just going through life (who) hasn’t been affected by these negative or traumatic experiences and doesn’t quite know what’s waiting for them on the other side,” Peters said.
“I’m trying to do something that feels very youthful, that feels very organic and, with the stars theme that I’ve been given, I’m trying to do things that are very celestial, like I’m taking it very literally.”
Along with the other designers, Peters said she enjoys the community that fashion shows have given her, and she believes the message of the Unchained show is great for younger students to hear as they might be more at-risk.
The founder and CEO of Overcomers on the Move, Kim Flynn, a longtime volunteer at the event, likewise noted the importance of educating individuals who don’t believe human trafficking would happen to them.
Flynn said the mission of Overcomers, a faith-based nonprofit specializing in peer support, is to provide nonexploitive support for people with histories of mental health issues, addiction struggles or human trafficking. This includes providing help to the victims and creating interventions for purchasers of sex trafficking to end the industry’s cycle.
“They always talk about vulnerable populations, but the vulnerable population is also people that aren’t educated about it, right?” Flynn said of the Unchained event.
“They say the vulnerable is the runaways, people on drugs, poverty, but it’s also people that don’t believe it’ll happen in their neighborhood.”
The dignity of restoration
Noting the importance of treating overcomers with dignity, two of Flynn’s overcomers will be onstage sharing their stories on their own terms as an act of restoration.
“They’re opening up about that part, but I’m really careful as to what they share,” Flynn said.
“It’s like, ‘Yeah, here’s why maybe I was vulnerable,’ and then, ‘Here’s how I overcame’ and ‘Here’s what I did to advocate for others.'”
While the event is free, the organizers requested a suggested donation of $10 for Ohio State students and $15 for nonstudents. The group will donate the profits to the Strategies for Success Scholarship Fund, which helps survivors pursue higher education.
As an overcomer herself, years ago, Flynn won the scholarship. Back then, her dream to launch an organization to help other women felt impossible.
She now writes the event’s script, reclaiming her voice alongside her clients.
Sophia Veneziano is a Columbus Dispatch reporter supported by the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation. She may be reached at sveneziano@dispatch.com. The Dispatch retains full editorial independence for all content.
