All Aboard, As Threads By Tea Transforms The Runway

Prince Davenport Photos.

It was just past 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, and the cavernous hall of Union Station had transformed into an otherworldly runway. Spotlights bounced off its brass fixtures and bathed the models in a warm, golden glow. Threads of music drifted through the air, equal parts haunting and electric. For a moment, the station belonged entirely to art.

Models, musicians, curators and fashionistas took Union Station—and then the Metro North Railroad and the Milford Arts Council (MAC)—by storm Sunday afternoon, as designer Tea Montgomery presented Pathos, a runway show, performance, and exhibition that traveled from New Haven to Milford in the span of several hours.

A collaboration with Dead By 5 a.m.’s Brenton Shumaker, Donald Carter of Donald Carter Designs, curator Juanita Sunday, and spoken word artist Frank Brady, the show blurred the lines between fashion, public art, and performance, transforming familiar spaces into stages for bold expression. In so doing, it confronted viewers with themes of resilience, vulnerability, and reclamation.

Pathos, which marks the second installment of a three-part series (read about the first here), is based around emotion and internal reflection, the show’s five feelings aligned with five distinct color palettes and designs. There is pride, pulsing in reds; envy, in different shades of green (“envy is very different from jealousy,” Montgomery said); impostor syndrome, represented in gradients of blue; patience, done in earth tones; and acceptance, a “culmination of all colors” shown mostly in blacks.

In planning the show—a process that spanned six or seven months—Montgomery invited Carter and Shumaker to join him in exploring how those emotions show up in their work and their lives. The results played out on the runway, and later in music from New Haven-based artist Ionne that pulsed through both Union Station and the MAC. 

“It’s an introspective view into the traits and characteristics of who we are, how we present to the world and where our power lies,” Montgomery said in a phone call Thursday morning. “It’s speaking to the full side of those emotions, how we process those emotions, how others provoke those emotions, how dealing with them makes us the best version of ourselves.”

Sunday, that came to life in vivid color and texture, with a flair fashion matched only by spirited poetry, vivid visual art, and music from producer and writer Ionne (a.k.a. Maurice Harris). Just after 2 p.m., models strode beneath the soaring arched ceilings of Union Station, poised and wide-eyed as soulful saxophone from performer Kenneth Jefferson echoed through the space.

The station shimmered with shifting light as sunbeams poured through the high windows, casting long, dappled shadows across the marble floor. Colorful fabrics rippled with each step the models took, their silhouettes framed against the grand arches and intricate ironwork that soared overhead.

One of the most striking looks came from Dead By 5 a.m. As models made the station their own, one showed off a deconstructed trench coat in ash gray, layered over a gauzy black tunic and frayed wide-leg pants. Chains draped across the chest caught the light with every step, adding a sense of tension and strength.

Donald Carter Designs, meanwhile, delivered a luminous moment with a structured cream blazer, its sharp shoulders softened by cascades of hand-dyed silk trailing like wings. The piece was paired with tailored trousers that shimmered with a subtle gold thread, catching glimmers of station light.

As the train rumbled along the tracks, the models turned the narrow aisles into catwalks, brushing past bewildered but enchanted passengers. The rhythmic clatter of the train became part of the soundtrack, syncing with the beat of the show’s music that pulsed softly from portable speakers. As Brady presented his poetry, his words became a kind of performance art, transporting his listeners as the train lurched forward on its way to Milford.

“This poem is a dedication to how we dedicated to—” Brady started, walking up and down the aisles. “A Black woman is a gift that keeps on givin’ for a livin every day. A Black woman been a superhero, the way she holds it down—”

In the train car, attendees sat at rapt attention; some pulled their phones out to record, despite cameras that trailed Brady and Jefferson everywhere they went. Sometimes, the train swallowed up a portion of the sound, Brady’s voice traveling differently depending on where a person was sitting.

At the MAC, the night culminated in an explosion of creativity: walls adorned with vibrant art, live music filling the space, and dancers weaving through the crowd. Guests swayed to the rhythm of Ionne’s eponymous Pathos EP—a release crafted specifically for the event—as the final looks made their debut beneath the gallery’s warm lights.

All the while, plates from Brittney’s Famous Alabama Kitchen made their rounds, their spicy, smoky aroma adding another sensory layer to the night’s celebration.

“It was such a highly ambitious idea and project to take on. I'm feeling elated and accomplished and excited to see what I’m gonna do next,” Montgomery said in a phone call afterwards. “I’m curating experiences … and in order to accomplish that, it takes a team. In order to make the biggest impact and in order to grow and skill, I can't do this on my own.”

Artist Raheem Nelson, who also serves as marketing and communications specialist at the MAC, said he was thrilled to have the organization be a collaborator on the project.

“PATHOS is about unity,” he said. “Threads by Tea brought the community together in every way, weaving connection into every part of the experience.”