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On Saturday, February 22, Stanford’s fashion-enthusiast’s club FashionX hosted its third annual runway show at Memorial Church, exhibiting student designers’ original clothing pieces on student models. Over 1,300 attendees flocked to FashionX’s most well-attended event of the year. While the fashion show originally took place at the Cantor Arts Center, for the last two years the club has held their show in Memorial Church. Religious and non-religious students alike have objected to this decision arguing that it violated the sacredness of Memorial Church with no consideration for the space’s religious significance.
There is no doubt as to whether or not FashionX violated Memorial Church’s Usage Policy — they did not. The policy states that the space primarily exists to facilitate religious opportunities, but allows for some performance-based events even if such performance is non-religious. Stanford cannot claim to respect religious life and maintain the secular, liberal treatment of the church as a community space without considering their support of holding secular events in sacred spaces and how such use of the space insults the sacred.
Fashion shows in sacred spaces are nothing new. Gucci showed their 2017 Pre-Spring/Summer collection in London’s Westminster Abbey, and Alexander Wang’s Fall 2016 show took place in New York’s St. Bartholomew’s. The industry has taken us to church many times, with designers from prominent fashion houses frequently incorporating design elements from religious icons. Dolce & Gabbana’s 2013 collection “Tailored Mosaic” was inspired by the Cathedral of Monreale, and Alexander McQueen's 1996 collection “Dante” featured a plethora of Christian imagery. Churches themselves are full of design inspiration, and the beautiful paintings, statues, and imagery eagerly invite fashion in.
However, FashionX’s decision to host their annual runway show in Memorial Church these past two years has upset many students who attend religious services there. The church is the primary place of worship for Stanford’s Christian community, especially for Catholic students, who attend Mass, Adoration, and confession there. A church, even a nondenominational one, is still a gathering space that holds profound significance to Christians. Consequently, Memorial Church should be kept sacred, and only be utilized under specific guidelines for entertainment when done so in a tasteful and respectful manner. A fashion show hosted inside a church in some instances may not be sacrilegious if done using good judgement and reverence to the church as a holy space, but FashionX has flaunted the sacredness of the space in an unacceptable way.
A student named Alice* commented that the church space should only be used for religious activities. She told the Review that she believes “If a separate organization wishes to use the space for something entirely secular, for a secular purpose, or for a secular people, I don’t think that kind of activity has a place in the church.” Another student, Jane*, expressed similar sentiments: “Just because something is technically allowed doesn’t mean that it’s appropriate or right or culturally sensitive at all.”
Jane voiced her belief that FashionX’s choice of location is “incredibly offensive” to the Christian faith: “There’s no credence paid to the fact that it’s in a church. It’s just a church [that’s being] used primarily for aesthetics. They strip it of the religious content entirely. They don’t even make a commentary on it. And that is what really upsets me.”
In allowing events to happen in religious spaces, it is imperative that clubs and the greater Stanford community acknowledge the space that they are occupying for what it is: a place dedicated for worship and prayer in the presence of God. FashionX did not acknowledge the offensive nature of their show happening in a church, and instead of taking necessary measures to be appropriate and respectful, they allowed models wearing immodest outfits to strut in front of the crucifix with absolutely no regard for their actions.
FashionX desecrated the altar as a part of their fashion show by utilizing the space as a runway, violating the part of the church that both symbolizes the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ made and serves as a recognition of God’s presence in the church. FashionX directed models to walk onto the altar platform, the sides of which were covered with panels, stop at the top of the altar space, and then continue down the middle of the pews.
Jane finds FashionX’s decision to make use of the altar space as a runway to be sacrilegious, as she recounted that the only times she has been up by the altar were for momentous occasions in her faith journey. She explained, “When I was received into the church and when I was confirmed and when I received my first communion. And then I’ve gone on the stairs to receive blessings. Those are the only times I have ever gone up there.”
Both Jane and Alice viewed FashionX’s decision not only as a disregard for the Christians on campus, but also as a way to use religion without any regard for its deeper meaning and orientation. Alice expressed, “When you have people posing in front of the crucifix, when you have people wearing cross earrings, for example, or wearing rosaries when they don’t pray. It’s an appropriation of religion as an aesthetic.” Similarly, Jane described how that type of behavior and action is “such a desecration of the substance of what that stuff means.” FashionX appropriated the Christian aesthetic, and their carelessness and disregard for the Christian faith is eminent in their choice to hold the show in a church.
Jane expressed great discomfort over both FashionX’s use of Memorial Church and some of the attendees’ negligence: “To see random people who know nothing about Christ, posing in front of the crucifix, wearing revealing clothes on a Saturday night showing up drunk in the church, treating it like it’s a party, or like a place to see and be seen, it’s so upsetting.” Memorial Church is more than an Instagrammable aesthetic: It is an offering to God and a place for all to reflect, pray, and encounter God’s presence. Approaching the altar symbolizes a connection with Christ and the church, and such a symbol should not literally be walked over and disrespected.
Even non-religious students have communicated their uneasiness over how FashionX used the church space. John*, who self-identifies as being agnostic and having “no interest in Christianity”, indicated that the choice of location gave him pause due to what having a fashion show in a church symbolized. He explained, “I’m not Muslim, but I find a mosque to be quite a moving place. I’m not religiously Jewish, but I find a synagogue to be quite a moving place. Because these are buildings that were built and designed in recognition of a higher power and some sort of spiritual truth.”
The deeper meanings and principles connected to religious spaces are not limited to Christian places of worship like Memorial Church. There is a double standard when it comes to Christian sacred spaces and the sacred spaces of other religions. FashionX would not have held their show in a temple or a mosque out of reverence and respect for the Jewish and Muslim faiths, but they would not think twice about using a church. Why should it be acceptable to use a Christian space of worship that holds no lesser religious significance than any other religious space?
While it may not be apparent that FashionX’s organizers attempted to criticize religious values as part of their exhibit, their choice to host it in Memorial Church clearly linked to the site’s historical and religious value. John called the show “a metaphor for the decay of Western spiritual values.” In further elaboration, he stated, “I’m not saying that I’m religious and it was uncomfortable because I felt like God was looking down. But the metaphor of it, the symbolism of it, of Jesus Christ on the cross dying for our sins looking down at this kind of wealthy, tone-deaf group of Stanford students while their friends saunter down in their sexy outfits made me uncomfortable.”
As a Stanford community we must consider the implications of any event happening in any religious space. We should not use religious constructions like Memorial Church in a manner that is not aligned with the values and intended purpose of the space. We cannot disrespect the sanctity of such places and disrespect those who practice the religion. We must keep sacred spaces sacred.
*Names changed to preserve anonymity.
