Don't stop this train! Poetry and music prevail after an attempt to quiet the car. JISU SHEEN
A fashion extravaganza started in New Haven Union Station, continued on the train car itself, and transformed into a party at the Milford Station Sunday afternoon.
Designer Tea Montgomery of Threads by Tea had the vision, and he assembled a talented team to bring it into reality.
The multimodal event, called PATHOS, was a continuation of Montgomery’s previous project ETHOS, starting with a showcase of collections from designers Deadby5am, Donald Carter, and Montgomery himself. Models strutted and struck poses up high on the second floor of Union Station. (Yes, it has a second floor — look up!)
Attendees then gathered into a Metro-North train to Milford. They were serenaded on board with live music before arriving at the Milford Arts Council (MAC) building at the Milford train station.
There, Juanita Sunday put together art installations with live painters, servers carried around delicious food from Brittney’s Famous Alabama Kitchen, and the 3 Queens of CT poured drinks at MAC’s underground speakeasy.
The event grew out of thoughtful collaborations with other fashion designers, a composer, a DJ, a saxophonist, photographers, models, event consultants, and even a skincare brand. Every artist whose work helped create the event was treated as a guest and someone to celebrate. And, contrary to what model Alana Ladson called the “polite claps” of other fashion shows, the energy of PATHOS was high.
The typically closed-to-the-public lofted upper East hallway of Union Station was the perfect shape for a runway. With rows of chairs lining both sides of the makeshift catwalk, it was front-row seating only.
“You betta work, Henry Street!” someone called out as a model in Deadby5am’s collection displayed an outfit covered in the Henry Street address for Dixwell gallery NXTHVN, where Brenton Shumaker, the mind behind Deadby5am is currently featuring his clothing.
MC Frank E. Brady hyped up the crowd: “This is officially the first runway show to ever take place in Union Station!”
Legendary fashion designer Donald Carter, per his custom, was the first model to take the runway during his collection’s showcase. He inspired shouts, claps, and gasps as he twirled in a gorgeous, heavily structured gown fit for fashion royalty.
“Donald is the icon for the young artists who are on the cutting edge,” said Katurah Bryant. She came to support the artists, she said, especially Tea, a family friend.
Threads by Tea closed out the show, his models adorned with maroon, purple, green, and gold. He played with texture, using crinkles and pleats, as well as neckline, from high mock-necks to deep Vs.
Latoya Jones, who sells skincare products as Urban Empress, remembers Tea from their days at Hillhouse High School. Tea included Jones’ sample skincare bundles in the gift bags given to VIP attendees at the show.
Maurice Harris, a.k.a. Ionne, composed music for Tea’s segment of the show, basing the pieces off of Tea’s creative vision. The two artists sent each other texts of their works in progress leading up to the show — Ionne would send demos while Tea would send pictures of the clothing — until the audio and visual components came together into one fluid experience.
Kenneth Jefferson walked through the train car playing live saxophone. Behind him, Brady blessed the train car with occasional poetry and held up a speaker playing R&B songs. The musical elements blended together with ease.
When a train attendant said the music was creating a disturbance inside the train, it looked like the party might be over. But the party fought back.
“You can’t scream on the train. It’s public disruption,” the attendant said to Brady, mid-poem.
“Okay, we planned to do this though,” Brady replied.
“You can’t scream though,” the attendant doubled down. “You can’t be a public disruption. You got tickets to be here?”
This caused an uproar as the whole train car joined in to say, “We all got tickets!”
“Oh, OK,” the attendant said, throwing up his hands in surrender as Jefferson played him out with gentle saxophone tunes.
“He ain’t get the memo,” the passengers repeated back and forth each other.
Raheem Nelson, marketing director at the MAC, took footage of every small moment, from the people boarding the train to the people starting to get into the groove at the afterparty. These days he has been interested in expanding the MAC’s programming beyond Milford. He got to talking with Tea and said, well, “We’re right on the train line.” It was “the perfect wildstorm” of ideas.
At the MAC, some models still in their Threads by Tea apparel, the crowd got down to DJ Dooley‑O’s infectious beats. There were line dances and circles of people hyping each other up. There was a conga line, yes. One person took the mic to sing along. The party, a culmination of a show powerful enough to cross city lines and turn fashion fans into travelers, felt like a celebration of what everyone was able to accomplish together.
“That’s the next generation,” Bryant said of Montgomery’s penchant for collaboration. “There’s plenty for everybody.”
