Adorned in a shiny red dress composed entirely of plastic grocery bags, Lyra Luu stepped out onto her first runway on May 20 amid camera flashes and applause. A matching wide-brimmed hat sat on her head, and glittering red makeup dripped from her eyes like tears.
“It was ‘trashion revolution,’ so all of the pieces were made out of single-use plastic,” Lyra, a junior, said. “The outfit I wore was made out of plastic grocery bags from this specific store in Milwaukee.”
For the past two years, Lyra has been balancing the artistry of modeling and the grace of ballet in her vibrant pursuits outside of school. Lyra’s achievements extend beyond the classroom, as evident in her navigation of the intersections between artistry and physical expression.
In addition to modeling, Lyra has been pursuing ballet as a form of artistic expression as well. She started ballet at the end of her ninth grade year when she became old enough to sign herself up for lessons at the Hyde Park School of Dance. Now, she’s both part of the company and on pointe.
“I’ve always been into fashion,” Lyra said, “but I think when the idea of modeling got started, it was after ‘America’s Next Top Model’ came out on Netflix for two seasons, and I watched it. I didn’t like it a lot, but it was nice to have on in the background.”
After being inspired by the television series, Lyra decided to attend a Chicago Fashion Week show. There, she met Florinda Fiore, or “Flo” — the creative director at the Fashion House of Fiore & Company, and now one of Lyra’s mentors. Ms. Fiore took one look at Lyra and immediately recognized her passion and taste for fashion.
“She was working there, and I met her there. She thought I was a model,” Lyra said, “and I was kind of like, ‘Oh. I didn’t really realize that was something I could do.’”
In terms of ballet, Lyra expresses her love of dancing combined with her distancing herself from the culture of it. The constant activity of a dancer can easily catch up to them, in many cases leading to issues like anxiety and depression. Ballet in particular has certain body standards that have caused eating disorders and negative body image, especially among young female dancers.
“It’s just the dancing itself, you know? The movement, the visual… it’s certainly not the culture,” Lyra said, her head tilted to the side. “I think we all know that ballet culture is less than ideal. Actually dancing and moving and letting the music flow through you — that I really enjoy.”
Lyra also emphasizes the connection between dancing and fashion, occasionally leading to collaborative opportunities where her dance or fashion abilities have been integrated into various projects.
“They’re both deeply artistic,” Lyra said. “They both have this aesthetic element to them, so there have definitely been photographers and designers who have been interested in me because I can dance, and they’ve put me in things related to dance. I also wrote a history paper on the history of ballet last year, and I really really enjoyed it.”
As cheers and camera shutters lingered in the air from her first runway show, Lyra gazed out, taking the first stride down the carpeted strip. It was the first step of a journey, and with each new step she takes, she continues to move towards a future of artistic expression and pushing the boundaries of conventionality.
