Caroline Glass

From Gallatin Fashion Show Debut to Empowering Others through Fashion

by Valerie Rodriguez-Castro

Caroline Glass emerged as one of NYU Gallatin’s up-and-coming designers with her Gallatin Fashion Show debut last year. Her collection, Sublime Femininity, consisted of four black dresses adorned with red bows. The sweet bows were offset with long black gloves and platform heels, giving the collection contrasting sweet and edgy elements. The love from this collection also secured her a spot to show her collection at NYU’s beloved Strawberry Fest earlier this year; and Caroline’s momentum from this show will not be slowing down anytime soon.

Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Glass, a junior, has been sewing since third grade. After her mom enrolled her in sewing classes for fun, she quickly found a passion for design. “When I was a kid, my mom would give me like twenty bucks to go to Walgreens and get whatever I could find to just sew and make clothes out of it,” Glass said.

Glass’ love for fashion grew in eighth grade when she and her best friend enrolled in the Teen Stylin’ program at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Glass credits this program as the foundation for her design skills; ”This was my first real experience with professionals teaching me what I'm doing. That was really like my foundation for everything,” she said. 

Glass continued with the program for five years, until her senior year of high school, when she won the title for Best Overall in the show and had her design displayed in the museum. A surreal experience, this win affirmed to Glass that she had the talent to make it in the industry and confirmed her love for fashion.

On beginning her undergraduate study of fashion design at Gallatin, Caroline said, “I think [the city is] so inspiring for anyone. From the beautiful architecture, the seasons changing in Washington Square Park, even something as small as seeing her roommate’s t-shirt.” Her creativity can come from anything.

When asked about future plans, Glass expressed her interest in helping people through fashion. She believes that fashion can be used as a medium to bring people together. In viewing fashion through a charitable lens, Glass is particularly passionate about supporting others who have experienced deep grief. After her father passed away from ALS at a young age, she turned to her creative endeavors to help manage her grief; now, she aims to  connect with others who have also experienced loss. 

“I've always had this goal to help other people that have been through grief because when I was a ten-year-old kid, I knew no one else whose dad passed away. That's a hard thing to go through when you feel you're alone.” Her dream is to one day own her own brand that can be used as a platform not only to create clothes, but also to make others feel less alone.