Senior Merriam Labban looked out over a crowd of people, ready to showcase the result of a summer’s hard work along with her passion for design. As people looked at and complimented her outfits, she felt positive about her success.

On Aug. 2, Merriam hosted a modeling show at the Church of the Redeemer in Los Altos where she presented 12 outfits she had meticulously designed and created over the summer.

“I really wanted to be able to show my work and do something with the passion I have,” Merriam said.

Preparation for the show began near the end of 2021, when Merriam took old sketches and refined them over the summer. From the initial sketches, she was inspired to form various new designs. Merriam’s inspiration often stems from her everyday life, from the new cultures she learns about to the scenery from vacations.

To make the designs into actual clothes, Merriam went to Jo-Ann Stores to buy the fabric needed for the designs. Her sister, freshman Christina Labban, also helped her out by testing the clothes to see if they fit and if any improvements were needed. 

“My sister was working really hard to get the show on,” Christina said. “She basically stayed up all night working on the articles of clothing. It was the first production ever and I think it went pretty well. The clothing was very unique.”

On the day of the show, around 70 people came to see and try on the clothes, a number that exceeded Merriam’s initial expectations. Although her success at the show was a shock at first, she was glad at how her hard work and planning paid off in the end.

“The show turned out better than I expected,” she said. “A lot of people came and I was proud that the models did well. I was really happy with how the clothing turned out since I had worked really hard on them.”