If you walk past the Denholm Building on Main Street this winter, you’ll be in for a visual treat.
Nine Worcester-area fashion designers and artists are showcasing their work in the former department store’s front windows. The “Heart of Fashion & Art: Celebrating the Spirit of the Denholm Through A Contemporary Lens” art exhibition calls back to an era in which anyone walking downtown Worcester’s sidewalks could gaze at the new fashions and find some inspiration.
The exhibit is on view through October, according to a press release from the city.
“I highly recommend driving by the Denholm Building anytime to see it, but they look especially stunning at night when they’re all lit up,” Worcester fashion designer and project manager Melissa Mattson said. “A lot of the windows have cool lights and the sequins sparkle and the signs shine, and the fabrics look great in the light.”
Denholm’s ‘glory days’
The displays will be lit up alongside the entire area surrounding the Worcester Common for the Festival Of Lights Dec. 6, and Mattson said like many Worcesterites, she heard tales of Denholm’s glory days growing up.
“My dad would go there to see Santa Claus every year, and they turned one of the floors into a huge Christmas village with toys,” Mattson said. “Back when Denholm’s was a store, it was the peak era of the Hollywood fashion aesthetic. Shoppers would dress to the nines just to go into the store, women would have hats and gloves just to go shopping, and there was a heart and passion for that experience.”
Heart of the matter
Heart is a major theme of the showcase, as all nine designers and artists have incorporated a heart design into their exhibitions, representing Worcester’s longtime designation as “the Heart of the Commonwealth.”
Artists and designers include Wavvz NewAge owner Emmanuel Qlynton Carboo, The Thicket owner Leigh Ann Soucy, Grime owner Molly McGrath, Livi Faulkner, Xiang Li, Emmanuella Saforo, Solo Jubin, Julia Csekö and Mattson herself, who sells her designs under the brand Cosmic Unicornz.
Each designer has one of the former department store’s front windows, and Mattson’s window features cloudlike white cloth, pastels, bridal fashion and lots and lots of sequins and sparkle.
“I wanted the viewer to be taken away to a magical place where you can be whoever you want,” Mattson said. “There are positive words of affirmation because I think the world needs more words of affirmation. If anything, all that we want is to know that we’re doing a good job when anxiety and doubt kick in. My whole line is about fantasy and being taken away in a time where reality can be daunting.”
‘You Are Welcome Here’
Other windows include a replica of a 1967 Denholm’s window display created by McGrath and Soucy, a dress Csekö made from ribbons with “You Are Welcome Here” written on each one in 15 different languages, and a shining red display featuring a heart-covered dress made by Carboo and a background decorated by Worcester children as part of the Judy’s Jubilee Mobile Arts and Technology afterschool program.
Mattson said she hoped the clothing and art in the Denholm windows would, among other things, inspire more people in Worcester to learn to sew.
“Sewing and fashion design is a trade that not a lot of people know in 2024,” Mattson said. “It’s becoming more rare, and I encourage young people to learn how to sew because it’s a skill you’ll have for the rest of your life, and you’ll always be able to help people, you’ll always be able to mend your own clothing, and there’s always someone who will need something altered or tailored.”
