4 — Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Dear Pinterest,
I still remember the day that 
you and I first met. I couldn’t have 
been more than 12 years old. My 
aunt had told me all about you — 
“It’s like an online bulletin board,” 
she described — and showed me 
around her own profile. I had 
never seen so many pictures, 
appropriately dubbed “pins,” in 
one place before. I could save these 
pins to a board, or multiple boards, 
and organize them in whatever 
way I liked. I knew that I had just 
discovered something magical.
You were my first taste of social 
media. I wouldn’t be allowed 
to have Instagram or Snapchat 
accounts like most of the kids my 
age until many years later, but it 
didn’t matter. You filled that void 
for me. I created collaborative 
boards with my friends where 
we saved pictures and posts that 
reminded us of our inside jokes. 
Through you, I first met and 
interacted with people I didn’t 
know, too. You know what they say 
— “don’t talk to strangers on the 
internet” — but everyone I talked 
with was so kind. I was a member 
of a collaborative board for a band 
I liked, and someone once posted a 
pin that said something along the 
lines of, “Repost this and see what 
nice things people say about you!” 
The comments of that post were 
quickly filled with compliments, 
reminders to never give up and 
lyrics and inside jokes related to 
the fandom. I can’t say whether 
I would have found that level of 
kindness on other sites, especially 
since I was so young, but I found it 
there, with you.
You give me a space to celebrate 

the things that I love. The boards 
on my first account (yes, I have 
several accounts) were dedicated 
to specific fandoms I was part 
of: Harry Potter, Disney, “Doctor 
Who,” different bands I listened 
to and YouTubers I watched. 
Those fandoms have reappeared 
and evolved on my more recent 
accounts too, as I have gotten into 
shows like “Gilmore Girls” and 
artists like Taylor Swift. You’re 
like a time capsule of my life — no 
matter which account I am using, 
you allow me to reflect on my life 
thus far through the figures and 

stories that shaped me. You have 
never made me feel embarrassed 
to show off these interests as parts 
of myself. 
You have always encouraged me 
to be creative in countless ways. 
Whenever I have a new idea for a 
story, you are there with writing 
tips, 
character 
artwork 
and 
prompts to play around with. My 
profile is filled with storyboards, 
most of them abandoned before I 
even wrote a full page, but should 
I ever come back to those ideas, I 
have a virtual database to spark 
my motivation again. You’re a 

great outlet for all other kinds 
of art as well. Whether it’s shots 
from movies I love, calligraphy 
styles I want to try, drawings and 
paintings I find pretty, tattoos 
I might get or outfits I’d like to 
recreate, you appreciate art in its 
many forms just as much as I do. 
We’re such a great fit for each 
other. 
You help me take care of myself 
and plan for my future. The idea of 
planning a wedding on Pinterest 
has become a bit of a joke, but do I, 
like countless others, have a board 
dedicated to this special occasion? 

You bet. There’s no telling whether 
I’ll actually use it — it will probably 
all be outdated by the time I get 
married — but you possess a wide 
array of knowledge and ideas that 
could someday serve me well. 
You’re also the first place I go when 
I’m looking for new meals. My 
recipe board easily takes up most 
of my attention when I’m perusing 
your pages. It has sections based 
on mealtime and geographical 
location, 
although 
Christmas 
cookie recipes, in particular, have 
their own board. Any time I try 
something new that I’ve found 

from your recommendations, I’m 
reminded of just how well you 
have come to know me.
You offer my future self advice 
that is more relevant to me in this 
current moment than a perfect 
wedding or a recipe repertoire. 
From hours of scrolling through 
your subjects, I have found helpful 
tips, from apartment hunting 
checklists to how to boost my 
credit score to the best way to 
secure my graduation cap on my 
head. My ever-approaching entry 
into “the real world” is nerve-
racking, and while I’m lucky 
enough to have people in my life to 
help guide me, I know that others 
don’t have access to the kinds of 
knowledge that more experienced 
people have acquired. You have 
advice that people might not think 
to ask for, and you welcome us in 
to receive it.
Our relationship has had its ups 
and downs. Just as I have grown 
over the years, so have you. But 
despite all of this change, you 
are still known as the “positive 
platform” I always knew you to 
be — the one that “help(s) people 
connect with things that bring 
them inspiration…avoiding a lot 
of the toxicity that you would 
find elsewhere in social media.” 
There have been times when I 
have gone several months, even 
years, without typing your name 
in my search bar or clicking on 
your app icon. I don’t know how 
that makes you feel — I know that 
you can’t truly feel because you’re 
not actually aware or human, but 
your content is so representative 
of myself that it’s like I’m looking 
into a mirror. Every time I return, 
I rediscover just how organized, 
imaginative and inspiring you are. 
I hope you know that I have, and 
will, always come back to you.

New 
York 
based 
designer 
Sandy 
Liang 
has 
a 
strong 
track 
record 
in 
successfully 
modernizing 
traditional 
feminine fashion; from ballet 
inspired footwear, to dramatic 
ruffled skirts to delicate corset 
tops, her past collections have 
given exciting new takes on 
classic womenswear. Her fall/
winter collection, which debuted 
last Friday at the beginning 
of New York Fashion Week, 
definitely 
lived 
up 
to 
this, 
showcasing dark feminine looks 
complemented by soft yet bold 
makeup and accessories. 
Liang 
is 
no 
stranger 
to 
delivering 
gorgeous, 
unique 
looks at the semiannual event. 
Her 
latest 
spring/summer 
collection, which debuted at 
NYFW in the fall, reinvented 
the idea of the uniform, turning 
it into mature and powerful 
pieces. This year, her show 
matched 
this 
inventiveness. 
The runway, decorated with 
wooden bookshelves and antique 
chandeliers, set the tone for 
the show with a dark, vintage 
energy suitable for a fall/winter 
collection. The bright windows 
and brass vent covers at the 

venue added to this, creating an 
atmosphere that exuded New 
York City interior design — 
perfectly fitting of a collection 
showcasing the individual and 
authentic nature of New York 
fashion.
The collection uses bows as a 
central aspect of its looks. Many 
tiny pink and black bows adorned 
the models’ hair and were 
stuck onto the models’ midriffs, 
surrounded 
by 
small 
gems. 
Additionally, larger bows were 
used to tie another model’s hair 
back. Bows are also abundantly 
used in this collection’s clothing 
— covering the front of tops and 
dresses as well as puffer jackets, 
in a variation of sizes. These bows 
are a perfect example of Liang 
using 
traditionally 
feminine 
accessories in unexpected ways, 
giving them a new purpose in 
modern fashion.
Lace and mesh also made small 
yet 
significant 
appearances 
in the models’ looks. Mesh 
eye coverings featuring roses 
embellished some of the models’ 
faces, creating a masquerade-like 
appearance that complimented 
their dresses. Similar mesh roses 
were also featured on a choker, a 
very ’90s accessory choice which 
made the more modern cropped 
cardigan that it was paired 
with feel more timeless. Mesh 

tops and dresses composed of 
lace contributed to the vintage, 
angelic feeling of the collection. 
The silhouettes of the pieces 
pointed 
towards 
vintage 
feminine styles as well. Long 
and mid-length ruffled skirts 
and dresses, Victorian necklines 
and puffy sleeves reminiscent of 
styles dating back to the 1800s 
somehow still felt modern and 
fresh paired with accessories 
like athletic leg warmers and 
sneakers. Tighter-fitting long 
sleeved tops and skirts mirroring 
more recent vintage fashion 
maintain the collection’s classic 
elegance while paired with high 
boots, ballet flats and large bows. 
The rich, fresh color palette 
brought an edge to the softness 
of the collection as well. Scarlet, 
black and neutral gray/browns 
added a layer of harshness to the 
soft pieces. On the other hand, 
pastel pinks, light blues and 
white maintained the themes of 
styles associated with traditional 
youthful femininity. The colors 
create a perfect balance of 
youthfulness and maturity in the 
pieces. 
Within all of the looks, the 
models’ 
makeup 
contributed 
greatly to the collection’s special 
feel. 
Light, 
bleached 
brows 
gave an otherworldly look to 
the models, paired with glowy 

soft eye makeup and light-pink 
shimmery blush. This was often 
balanced by bold, dark lips in 
shades of purple, black and red. 
The balance of the dark lips 
and light, glowy eyes reflected 
the 
collection 
perfectly, 
complementing the dark and 
modernized 
takes 
on 
soft, 
established feminine clothing. 
Overall, Liang succeeded in 

creating a vintage-esque style 
that never felt dated. The team 
gave the looks a soft element 
through 
flowers 
and 
bows, 
flowing silhouettes and pastels, 
while maintaining their modern, 
unprecedented 
edge 
through 
darker colors, cropped styles 
and pieces such as puffer jackets 
which establish and hold their 
place in present-day fashion. 

This collection points to the 
future of current styles rooted 
in ballet and dancewear, taking 
a step further into reinventing 
pre-existing styles and similar 
subsets of fashion. Sandy Liang’s 
New York Fashion Week show is 
a strong indicator of how today’s 
styles will evolve over the year, 
giving 
exciting 
insight 
into 
which trends are to come.

A love letter to Pinterest

Design by Emma Sortor

Sandy Liang brings stunning FW23 looks to NYFW

HANNAH CARAPELLOTTI
Daily Arts Writer

CECILIA DORE
Daily Arts Contributor

This image is from the official website for Sandy Liang.

