By Emma Olberg

For 15 years, BHS has held a wearable fashion show called Rock The Runway (RTR). RTR is a show that displays the amazing talent and creativity of high school students. Every year, participants may use anything but fabric to create an item of clothing or a fashion accessory. This shows how creative students can really get. This year, the show’s theme was ‘Wonder’. Over 500 people attended the event at the Batavia Fine Arts Center on March 16, 2024. As spectators were arriving, models wearing interesting accessories were on display in the lobby. The impressive accessories included hats, belts, and arm garments made out of materials such as beads, chicken wire, stained glass, and even Pokémon cards. Within the show, there were 26 designers who had all made some design of a garment to share with the audience that night. Some designers modeled their own creations while others chose to have a friend model for them.

As guests found their seats in the auditorium they were greeted with the sounds of Harmonic Haze, a group of six BHS musicians. They provided the perfect jazz tunes for the show. The show began with the hosts Sydney Waters and Erin Connolly explaining the theme of the show and presenting the agenda for the evening. One at a time, models took their first walk on the stage in a parade of creativity. They quickly went through a second round, showing off the designs to give one more idea before close up viewing. During intermission, guests could see the designs up close in the school hallways. Then the guests had the chance to vote on their favorite accessory and outfit along with donating to the models and designers to help keep the program going. Each designer and model came up on stage to take a bow before the awards were announced to all in the theater. 

During the second half of the show, the students and teacher who planned the show were honored. Awards were then given for first, second, third place prize, a “People’s Choice” award, and the “Total Package” award. Rachel Argo, had won first place with her outfit made of plexiglass, microscope slides, and reflective road reads. Addie Moonshower won second place and the ‘People’s Choice’ award for the accessory she designed using stained glass, aluminum, and chicken wire. Grace Huggins won the third place award and the ‘People’s Choice’ award for her outfit, that was created of only resin, 3D printed sheet beads, and water flowing through the dress. Kaia Olberg, was modeling for Charlotte Nelson. “I’ve never done something like this before so the experience up there overall was very new but after the lights hit at first I was back to some of my very first moments on stage again. If I had the opportunity to do it again, I definitely would!” For audience members and participants, it seems the show was fun and definitely full of ‘Wonder.’