The work of a Cheektowaga Central School District student will be presented to the community along with those from fellow student designers in the Erie 1 BOCES Fashion Design Technology program during the FUSION ‘24 Fashion Show: Aurora. 

Cemari said she gets inspiration from the creativity she saw as she learned about fashion. 

“In this industry, almost everything is deemed as fashion,” Cemari said. “Being able to create what you want and show it off as your own is what inspires me as well.” 

The FUSION Fashion Show, which has been running since 2009, will take place on Wednesday, March 27 and will showcase the work of 18 high school fashion students from across Western New York who attend the Harkness Career & Technical Education Center. The theme for this year’s show, Aurora, was developed by students based on how the colors in the sky reflected the ideas of personal change and the feeling of community. 

Cemari said her pieces in the show are inspired by the show’s Aurora theme, and in seeing the sky change during the day. 

After high school, Cemari said she plans on creating an online clothing store to create and sell her own clothing. 

The annual show brings together talents from multiple Erie 1 BOCES programs, who support each other to ensure the success of the show. That includes Barbering and Cosmetology program students who prepare participating models for the show, along with Criminal Justice students that assist with security for the evening. The Engineering and Robotics program also assisted student designers in the creation of gears and 3-D printing for their designs. 

The two-year Fashion Design Technology program at Erie 1 BOCES’ Harkness Career & Technical Educational Center teaches students how to dress, style and create trends based on design elements and the fashion cycle. Students in the program also develop business plans as a part of their studies, setting them up for future success. The students’ work included creating the posters and tickets for the show. 

This year's show will take place at 7 p.m. on March 27 at The Show at Shea’s Seneca, 2188 Seneca Street, Buffalo, N.Y. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and will close at 6:50 p.m. prior to the start of the show. Tickets are $5, and can be reserved by emailing instructor Darlene Borchert at dborchert@e1b.org. Proceeds from the show will benefit Ten Lives Club as well as the Buffalo Underdogs Rescue. For more information about the show, visit https://www.e1b.org/en/k-12-education-programs/fusion-2024.aspx.